US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accepted the invitation to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

According to US State Department spokesman Ned Price, Blinken had offered to meet with Lavrov, and Russia had stated the end of next week as the date for this talk.

The meeting will take place in Europe—and on the condition that there will be no future invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Price said.

If the Russians invade Ukraine in the coming days, it will become clear that they have never taken diplomacy seriously, he added.

Earlier, Blinken said in an address at the UN Security Council that he had asked Lavrov to meet in Europe next week.