Diplomatic discussions between Britain and Russia meant to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine turned rancorous on Thursday as Soviet Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused his British counterpart Liz Truss of coming to the high-stakes meeting in Moscow “unprepared” and she pressed him on the Kremlin’s intention to invade its Western neighbor.

During a heated joint press conference with Truss that followed a two-hour meeting, Lavrov said London and Moscow had found little to agree on and added that the talks contained “no trust. Just slogans shouted from the tribunes.”

“I’m honestly disappointed that our conversation turned out like the mute with the deaf. We appear to be listening but we’re not hearing anything,” said the grim-faced Russian diplomat. “Our detailed explanations fell on unprepared ground.”

“It’s like when they say that Russia is waiting for the ground to freeze so that tanks can easily enter Ukraine,” he added. “It seems that our British colleagues were on similar [frozen] ground today, off of which bounced all the facts we presented them.”

Lavrov again denied that Russia intended to invade Ukraine, and blamed Britain and the US for escalating tensions by deploying forces in Eastern Europe.

But Truss pushed back on Moscow’s denials and rejected the claim that Western nations are provoking the showdown.

“I can’t see any other reason for having 100,000 troops stationed on the border, apart from to threaten Ukraine,” she said. “And if Russia is serious about diplomacy, they need to remove those troops and desist from the threats.”

“No one is undermining Russia’s security – that is simply not true,” Truss insisted, adding that it was “perfectly proper” for Ukraine to defend itself and seek alliances.

Truss then warned Lavrov that an attack would “have massive consequences and carry severe costs” and urged the Kremlin to abide by international agreements and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.

She predicted that if Russia invades, the Ukrainians will fight, leading to a “drawn-out conflict,” the West will impose “severe sanctions” against individuals and institutions and the US will put an end to the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany.

“Why I’m here in Moscow is that Russia has a very clear choice,” she said after the news conference. “They can pursue the path of diplomacy, work with NATO to improve European security, or continue down the path that they have been indicating by amassing troops on the border in a threatening way.”

Relations between Britain and Russia have been strained for years and hit a low point with the attempted poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter on British soil in 2018.

The fireworks in Moscow came as thousands of Russian troops began joint-military exercises in Belarus and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the West was entering the “most dangerous moment” in its standoff with Russia.

The exercises place Russian troops within about 50 miles of Ukraine’s capital Kiev and have sparked fears among Western officials that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use the maneuvers as cover for an invasion.

The start of the exercises coincided with a flurry of diplomatic activity as Johnson visited NATO headquarters in Brussels; officials from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France met in Berlin; and Truss huddled with Lavrov.

​”I honestly don’t think a decision has yet been taken” by Putin on an invasion, Johnson ​told reporters at a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. “But that doesn’t mean that it is impossible that something absolutely disastrous could happen very soon indeed.”

“This is probably the most dangerous moment, I would say, in the course of the next few days, in what is the biggest security crisis that Europe has faced for decades, and we’ve got to get it right,” the prime minister added. “And I think that the combination of sanctions and military resolve, plus diplomacy is what is in order.”

Meanwhile, three Russian warships capable of landing tanks and troops ashore steamed from the Mediterranean into the Black Sea to take part in live-fire drills – another show of strength from Moscow.

Russia now has forces or military equipment enveloping Ukraine on three sides — the Black Sea to the south, Belarus to the north and up to 140,000 troops staged along its western border with Ukraine.

With Post wires