Russia still wants to engage in diplomacy regarding the future of Ukraine, it said a day after it recognized two separatist regions as independent.

It called for troops to go in to prevent what it called a genocide of ethnic Russians.

“We even said in the worst moments that we are prepared for the negotiation process,’’ said Maria Zakharova, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

He added that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov still hoped to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.

The two men were meant to discuss a possible summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden.

However, it’s unclear if such a summit is on the cards after Russia’s actions.

The U.S. was also leading most Western nations in applying heavy sanctions on Russia.

Putin fulfilled many of Ukraine and the West’s worst dreams on Monday when he declared that Ukraine was not a full country and that Russia had to intervene to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine’s east from genocide.

The West accused Putin of fabricating arguments to justify his actions, building upon 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.

Soloviev. live, a news portal with close ties to the Kremlin, said Russian troops were already in the disputed Donbas region, which has seen Russian-backed separatists engage in a stand-off with Ukrainian forces since 2014.

There was no official confirmation of Russian troop presence.

The Donbas separatists accused Ukrainian forces of firing on them.

Fears have been growing of a Russian incursion since it began massing troops on the Ukrainian border last year.

Russia has always denied that it was planning any move into Ukraine, in spite of frequent warnings from the U.S. that just such an attack was about to happen.

Additionally, Russia has demanded that NATO removed all troops from Eastern Europe and wants to open negotiations about a new European security plan.

The question now is how far the West will go in laying sanctions on Russia and what effect they will have?

NATO has already ruled out engaging Russia militarily.

EU officials were expected to present a new package of sanctions on Tuesday.

The scope of the sanctions – and whom they might affect remains unknown.

European Council President, Charles Michel, said he spoke to Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and pledged the EU’s full support amid the crisis.

“The EU stands by you firmly and fully supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity,’’ Michel tweeted.

“Russia’s move is an attack against international law and the rules-based international order.’’

Biden bans investment, trade with DPR, LPR

Meetings were also underway in London, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was chairing a meeting that was expected to result in more sanctions on Russia, reported the Press Association.

Meanwhile, China called on all sides to exercise restraint and called for de-escalation.

Turkey, whose relations with Russia run hot and cold, called the move to recognize the separatists unacceptable.