MOSCOW, (Reuters) – The rouble rose Tuesday after Russia claimed that troops close to Ukraine had returned to their base after conducting military exercises. It was this after a Russian asset sales last week, which was triggered by renewed invasion fears.

After Russia’s defense ministry said that troops from Russia’s adjacent military districts to Ukraine had completed drills and were now returning to their bases, the rouble rose. This could help de-escalate tensions with Moscow.

The rouble had gained 1.5% against the dollar by 0831 GMT at 75.62. This is still a significant difference from the levels of 75 that it reached before Friday’s sharpest decline in almost two years.

To 85.62, the rouble grew 1.3% in value against the euro.

The currency gained on Monday after Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, suggested to President Vladimir Putin Moscow continue to follow the diplomatic route in its attempts to obtain security guarantees from West.

Dmitry Polevoy of Locko Invest said that the currency’s reaction was a clear indication of how powerful a single sentence can move it in either direction.

“We believe that the rouble can rise above these levels,” he stated. According to our estimates, the rouble is 5-7% behind other EM currencies since the beginning of the year.

Russia’s massive troop buildup has scared the West, who have been warned by many Western countries that Russia might invade Ukraine in an imminent attack, something Moscow repeatedly denies planning.

“The shuttle diplomacy continues – as long as the West remains vocal on the issue, the market will continue to follow headlines, with the binary outcome (a further deterioration vs conciliation) suggesting significant up/downside,” BCS Global Markets said.

VTB Capital reported that support for the ruble was received from companies exporting foreign currencies earlier this week.

The global benchmark of Russia’s major export was at 9.5.00 dollars a barrel. But, the price is still well below its previous seven-year high.

Russian stock indexes increased after an earlier sell-off.

Dollar-denominated RTS Index rose 4.7%, to 1,492.7. In Russia, the MOEX Russian Index was 2.8% higher at 3,579.9.