Biden called the moves the first set of significant measures taken in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision a day earlier to recognize as independent, and aid militarily, breakaway regions in southeastern Ukraine.
Washington had consulted with allies on the decision to cancel the talks, scheduled to take place in Europe, before informing Lavrov in a letter on Tuesday, Blinken said.
Russia said after the "very disappointing" security talks last week that it would wait for the U.S. and NATO to provide written responses to its demands before deciding how to move forward.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. believes "this is an extremely dangerous situation. We are now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack."
“It is up to the Russians to determine which path they are going to take, and the consequences are going to be severe if they don’t take the diplomatic path,” Psaki said.