WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday rebuffed calls to immediately impose economic sanctions on Russia, saying that doing so would undercut the West’s ability to deter potential Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Russia’s massing of troops near its border with Ukraine has sparked Western concerns that it may invade. If Russia does make an incursion, the West has threatened sanctions with profound economic effects. Moscow has said it has no plans to invade.

“When it comes to sanctions, the purpose of those sanctions is to deter Russian aggression. And so if they are triggered now, you lose the deterrent effect,” Blinken told CNN in an interview.

Blinken said if one more Russian force entered Ukraine in an aggressive manner, that would trigger a significant response.

The United Kingdom has threatened Russia with sanctions after Britain accused the Kremlin of seeking to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Washington Post last week he supported imposing sanctions now, a view endorsed by Republican lawmakers on Sunday.