REYKJAVIK: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised Washington's "deep concerns" about Russian troops amassed along the Ukraine border despite an announced pullback, in his first talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday.

During almost two hours of discussions in Reykjavik, Blinken also expressed US concerns on the health of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and the "repression" of opposition organisations, a US State Department spokesman said in a statement.