The rising tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian borders were the focus of talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the former’s visit to Brussels this week.

The two officials discussed the accumulation of Russian military forces near Ukraine. As they stressed, there is an “urgent need for Russia to stop the aggressive military build-up of forces along the border with Ukraine and in the occupied Crimea.”

The prospects for promoting peace in Afghanistan were also discussed, the State Department said in a statement.

Earlier, Antony Blinken stressed that on his second visit to Brussels he was seeking constructive talks with the Allies on a number of common priorities.