Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a meeting on Monday in Kyiv amid tensions with Russia.

During a joint press conference after the meeting, Scholz said that Germany expects Russia to use an offer of security dialogue, adding that there is no reasonable justification for the military activity of Russia on the Ukraine border.

Scholz will have a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. The Kremlin said it expected the meeting to address Ukraine, security guarantees for Russia, and Nord Stream 2, awaiting European Union approval. 

The German chancellor told reporters on Monday that he will underscore the economic consequences of any "invasion" of Russia during the meeting with Putin.

Dozens of the 350 troop reinforcements promised by Germany began arriving in NATO ally Lithuania on Monday, and Germany already has around 550 soldiers stationed there, AFP reported. 

Zelensky told Scholz that Russia was wielding its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as a "geopolitical weapon".
"We have certain disagreements in our assessments" of the Russia-Germany energy link, he said after talks with Scholz.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Scholz in Berlin. At a joint press conference, the French president reaffirmed that pursuing dialogue with Russia is "the only path that will make peace possible in Ukraine." 

Scholz emphasized, "the maintenance of peace must intervene through diplomacy." 

In recent days, the United States has hyped up tensions between Russia and Ukraine and stoked fears of a Russian "invasion." 

"As we've said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time should Vladimir Putin decide to order it," U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Friday while refusing to "comment on the details of our intelligence information." 

Moscow has denied the accusation, saying that Russia has the right to mobilize troops within its borders to defend its territory as NATO's activities constitute a threat to Russia's border security. 

(With input from agencies)