The UN Security Council held a stormy and bellicose debate on Moscow's troop buildup near Ukraine on Monday.
A Russian diplomat has denied reports that Moscow sent Washington a written response to a US proposal aimed at deescalating the Ukraine crisis.
A day after three Biden administration officials said the Russian government sent a written response, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Russia's state RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday that this was “not true”.
According to a senior diplomatic source who too spoke to RIA, Russia has sent follow-up questions rather than a response to the United States in their exchange on Moscow's demands for security guarantees.
Russia's letter contained questions from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, also sent to other NATO members, on how Moscow's counterparts understood the "indivisibility of security" principle, the source was quoted as saying.
Moscow was still working on an actual response to Washington's counter-proposals, the source told RIA.
READ MORE: Ukraine urges West to be 'vigilant and firm' in negotiations with Russia
Security demands
The Kremlin is seeking legally binding guarantees from the US and NATO that Ukraine will never join the bloc, deployment of NATO weapons near Russian borders will be halted and the alliance's forces will be rolled back from Eastern Europe.
The demands, rejected by NATO and the US as nonstarters, come amid fears that Russia might invade Ukraine. Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders.
Talks between Russia and the West have so far failed to yield any progress. Washington and Brussels replied last week to Moscow's demands for legally binding security guarantees amid the standoff over Ukraine's plans to join NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow's main security demands had not been addressed but Russia was ready to keep talking.
READ MORE: Russia responds to US offer after bellicose UN debate over Ukraine crisis
Rhetoric over sanctions
The White House said on Monday it is ready to impose sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's "inner circle" if an attack on Ukraine goes ahead.
And on Tuesday, Russia's embassy in Washington said Moscow will not back down in the face of US sanctions threats.
"We are not going to back away and stand at attention, listening to the threats of US sanctions," the embassy said on Facebook, adding that it is "Washington, not Moscow, that generates tensions".
The embassy said Russia's troops do "not threaten anyone" and that it is Moscow's "sovereign right" to move its armed forces on its territory.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold fresh telephone talks on Ukraine on Tuesday.
READ MORE: US lawmakers warn Russia of 'mother of all sanctions' ahead of UNSC meet
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