Russia said on Monday it would send what it called “uncomfortable” signals to the United States ahead of a summit between the leaders of the two countries next month and said it was militarily strengthening its western border.

The comments came a day after US President Joe Biden said he would pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to respect human rights when the two leaders meet in Geneva on June 16. Relations between the two powers are at an all-time low in the post-Cold War era.

“Americans have to assume that a number of signals from Moscow … will be uncomfortable for them, including in the next few days,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said as quoted by the news agency. RIA.

Ryabkov said Russia would be ready to answer Biden’s questions about human rights in Russia and said Moscow was more flexible than Washington when it came to crafting an agenda for the summit, reported RIA.

Russia’s relations with the West are extremely strained due to the imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a military build-up near Ukraine as well as allegations of election hacking.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that the United States and NATO’s transatlantic alliance had recently stepped up military activities in western Russia, which demanded a response from Moscow.

“The actions of our Western colleagues destroy the global security system and force us to take adequate countermeasures,” the Interfax news agency quoted Shoigu as saying.

“About 20 military formations and units will be formed in the Western Military District by the end of the year,” he said.