MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have agreed to hold talks on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting in Reykjavik next week, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The announcement comes amid the biggest crisis between Russia and the United States in years.

The Russian ministry said Lavrov and Blinken had spoken by phone and discussed international and bilateral ties and agreed to hold separate talks “on the sidelines” of the ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council on May 20.

Lavrov and Blinken discussed North Korea, Iran and “strategic stability” as well as cooperation within the Arctic Council.

The two also discussed Washington’s proposal to organise a summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden has increased pressure on the Kremlin since becoming US president in January, and comments he made likening Putin to a killer were met with fierce criticism in Moscow.

Russia recalled its ambassador for consultations and warned that ties were on the brink of outright “collapse”.