Moscow Warns U.S. on Ukraine Escalation Risks

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov urged the U.S. to heed Moscow's warnings about the risks of escalating the conflict in Ukraine. He noted no meeting is planned between Russian and U.S. officials during the UN General Assembly. Concerns were raised over Kyiv's long-range strikes into Russia.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has urged the United States to heed Moscow's warnings about the potential for further escalation in the Ukraine conflict, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

Addressing the possibility of a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ryabkov stated that no such meeting would take place as neither side had 'anything to talk about.' Meanwhile, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova highlighted that granting Kyiv carte blanche to carry out long-range strikes deep inside Russia would alter the nature of the conflict.

'We would like to remind the hawks on both sides of the Atlantic... They are playing with fire and have lost all sense of reality,' Zakharova cautioned during a briefing. 'The scale of conflict which started because of the West risks becoming completely different, with potentially dangerous consequences for the entire world.'

(With inputs from agencies.)