New Delhi: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it would be "catastrophic" if the Russia-Ukraine crisis escalated into a war, AFP reported.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Antonio Guterres said there was no alternative to diplomacy.
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"With a concentration of Russian troops around Ukraine, I am deeply concerned about heightened tensions and increased speculation about a military conflict in Europe," Guterres said.
"If that happened, it would be catastrophic. There is no alternative to diplomacy," he said.
Tensions escalated this week between Moscow and the NATO countries over Russia's increasing military build-up close to the Ukrainian border.
Reports said Russia has positioned more than 1 lakh troops near its border with Ukraine, triggering concerns among the NATO countries about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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However, Russia has been denying that it plans to invade Ukraine. Russia claimed on Friday that it was withdrawing more tanks and other armoured vehicles from areas near Ukraine's border.
At the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Thursday, the US said that over 150,000 Russian forces had amassed around Ukraine's borders and were preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine "in the coming days".
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the most immediate threat to peace and security was Russia's looming aggression against Ukraine.
"Russia plans to manufacture a pretext for its attack. This could be a violent event that Russia will blame on Ukraine or an outrageous accusation against the Ukraine government," Blinken said.
US President Joe Biden also said that America has "every indication" that Russia is prepared to move into Ukraine in the next couple of days.