Britain's top diplomat on Thursday urged Russia to ease tensions in Ukraine and take the diplomatic path, despite the massive exercises conducted by thousands of Russian troops in Belarus

Britain's top diplomat on Thursday urged Russia to ease tensions in Ukraine and take the diplomatic path, despite thousands of Russian troops conducting massive exercises in Belarus as part of a military build-up near Ukraine that has heightened Western fears of an invasion. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss once again warned Russia that attacking its neighbours would "have enormous consequences and bear a heavy price", urging Moscow to abide by international agreements that it promised to respect Ukraine's independence and sovereignty. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sat gloomily across from a table in Teras, setting a harsh tone for the talks, stressing that Moscow would not accept Western preaching. Lavrov said: "Ideological means, ultimatums and moral preaching is a road that does not work." He noted that his talks with Terrass marked the first meeting between senior diplomats from the two countries in more than four years. In March 2018, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was poisoned in Britain, along with other sources of tension, leading to serious tensions in Russian-British relations. Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and launched a series of military exercises in the region, but said there were no plans to invade Ukraine.