Russia warns US against 'spiral of escalation' but says it will keep channels open

FILE PHOTO: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attends a meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia October 16, 2023. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - Russia warned the United States on Wednesday to halt what it called a "spiral of escalation" over Ukraine, but said it would keep informing Washington about test missile launches in order to avoid "dangerous mistakes".

The comments from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov sent a signal that Moscow, which last week approved a new policy that lowered its threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, wants to keep communication channels open at a time of acute tensions with the U.S.