The latest diplomatic manoeuvres come after US secretary of state Antony Blinken met with with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Switzerland in a bid to avert a conflict on the border of the former Soviet republic, where Moscow has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops.
Russia's defence minister has accepted an invitation to meet his UK counterpart Ben Wallace amid fears that an invasion of Ukraine is"imminent".
The British defence secretary offered earlier this week to hold talks with Sergei Shoigu in London to discuss mutual security concerns, against heightened tensions with the Kremlin over its former Soviet neighbour.But given the last bilateral defence talks between the two countries took place in London, Mr Shoigu has agreed to meet in Moscow instead.A senior defence source said:"The defence secretary is glad that Russia has accepted the invitation to talk with his counterpart.