In signs of easing tensions around its conflict over Ukraine, Russia on Wednesday said it was returning more troops and weapons stationed at the border back to its bases besides giving a nod to talks with the West. However, the US and some of its Nato allies are walking a tightrope on the matter.

Russia on Wednesday said military drills in Moscow-annexed Crimea had ended and that soldiers were returning to their garrisons, a day after it announced a first troop pullback from Ukraine’s borders.

“Units of the Southern Military District, having completed their participation in tactical exercises, are moving to their permanent deployment points,” Moscow’s defence ministry said in a statement.

However, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg threw cold water on those statements, saying the military organization does not see any sign that Moscow is decreasing its troop levels around Ukraine. “At the moment, we have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces,” he said, before chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

The US President also urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to step back from war with Ukraine. Biden said if Russia invades Ukraine, the US and its allies are prepared to respond with penalties that are aimed at exacting economic pain and global isolation.

Western leaders remain concerned that Russia could still launch an attack on Ukraine, with US President Joe Biden warning on Tuesday that an attack by Moscow remained “very much a possibility”.

Biden said that despite Russian claims earlier in the day, Washington and its allies had yet to verify the withdrawal of any of the tens of thousands of troops he says Moscow has now mustered along Ukraine’s border.