U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday he had canceled a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov planned for Thursday after Moscow's recognition of two separatist regions in Ukraine as independent entities.

Blinken sent Lavrov a letter on Tuesday informing him he would no longer meet him, Blinken told reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Washington.

The United States and its allies would continue to escalate sanctions if Russia further escalates its aggression toward Ukraine, he said.