New York, March 31 (RHC) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that relations between the United States and Russia have deteriorated “to what we lived through during the Cold War.”

He called for safeguards to be implemented to avoid escalating tensions.

“During the Cold War, there were mechanisms of communication and control to avoid the escalation of incidents, to make sure that things would not get out of control when tensions would rise. Those mechanisms have been dismantled,” said Guterres.

He told reporters that he believes “it’s time for precautions of this sort – guaranteeing effective communication, guaranteeing capacity to prevent escalation - I believe that mechanisms of this sort are necessary again.”

Only days after the United States announced it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, including 12 posted to the U.N. Mission in New York City over a nerve agent attack in Britain, Guterres called for Washington and Moscow to re-establish lines of communication aimed at de-escalating tensions between the two countries, according to Reuters. Numerous Russian diplomats were also expelled from several European countries.

Russia denies any part in the incident. The Russian government announced this week that it was expelling 60 U.S. diplomats and closing the US consulate in St. Petersburg.