The war of words between the United States and Russia over the situation in Ukraine has escalated.

In connection with the military alliance NATO's foreign ministers' meeting in Riga earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed to have "evidence" that Russia is planning aggressive operations against Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded quickly with a statement about, among other things, demands that NATO not expand further east.

On Thursday, Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met at the OSCE in Stockholm to discuss the issue further.

In an interview with Agenda, Antony Blinken says that the situation is serious.

- The message was simple and straightforward.

We had a very direct and serious conversation, that we are seriously concerned about seeing Russian forces mobilize at the border with Ukraine, says Antony Blinken.

He continues:

- We are very concerned that Russia puts itself in a position where they are committing a new offensive and I wanted to clarify directly to Foreign Minister Lavrov what serious consequences it would have, he says.

"Can not take the risk"

Blinken states that he stated that the situation can be resolved with diplomacy.

He says it is now up to Russia to withdraw its troops and start diplomatic talks.

How serious do you think Russia's threat to Ukraine is?

- It's very serious.

What we are seeing are major mobilizations at the border, destabilization inside Ukraine and the fact that social media campaigns against Ukraine have increased tenfold in recent months.

And we've seen it before, it's nothing new, says Blinken.

- We simply can not take the risk of it happening again.

The consequences are terrible and it is not in anyone's interest, he says.

He does not want to go into detail about what measures the United States is prepared to take.

- We are committed to territorial integrity and Ukraine's sovereignty, and that is something that is vital.

Not just for Ukraine, but because it is about fundamental principles of our democracy.

If countries are allowed to change borders by force of a democracy and nothing is done about it, other countries will do the same, says Antony Blinken.

See the full interview in Agenda.