The Situation On The Ukrainian Border Tenses, President Putin And President Biden Immediately Hold Talks On The Phone

JAKARTA - US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak on Thursday, the White House said, as Washington devises a joint response to Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's borders with European allies.

The two leaders will discuss a variety of topics, including upcoming security talks between the two countries and the tense situation in Europe, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement.

Meanwhile Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters the call was set to take place "Thursday evening," without elaborating.

Horne said President Biden had spoken to leaders across Europe about the situation on Ukraine's borders. Meanwhile, administration officials of President Biden's Administration are in touch with NATO, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Moscow has alarmed the West by deploying tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine in the past two months, following the seizure of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and its support for separatists battling Kyiv forces in eastern Ukraine.

Russia, however, denies planning to attack Ukraine and says it has the right to move its troops on its own territory at will.

Additionally, Moscow, alarmed by what the West says is rearming Ukraine, says it wants legally binding guarantees that NATO will not expand further east, and that certain offensive weapons will not be deployed to Ukraine or other neighbours.

US concerns have not subsided in recent weeks, according to a senior Biden administration official. Another US official said that despite reports over the weekend Russia would withdraw some 10,000 troops from its border with Ukraine, so far they have seen little evidence to support that.

"We are at a time of crisis and have been for several weeks now given the Russian upgrade, and it will require a high level of engagement to address this and to find a path of de-escalation," said one of the officials who declined to be named.

The person said President Putin requested a phone call with President Biden.

"When President Biden asked to speak to President Putin during 2021, President Putin said, Yes, let's talk. And when President Putin said I'm interested in touching the base and making a phone call, President Biden said yes," he said.

President Biden is likely to repeat what he said in a phone call, the United States would take swift economic action against Russia in the event of an invasion. They would also strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in such a case.

However, the US president has pushed for direct diplomacy as an alternative. The Biden administration has held in-depth talks with Ukraine and a number of NATO allies, including those bordering Russia, according to Horne, a White House spokesman.

Separately, President Biden is likely to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy soon, another official said. This follows US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking with the Ukrainian leader on Wednesday, expressing "unwavering support for Ukrainian independence," according to a spokesman.

To note, Russia and NATO will also hold talks on January 12, with a broader meeting including Moscow, Washington and other European countries scheduled for January 13.

President Putin compared current tensions to the Cold War-era Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Washington regards some of its demands, including curbs on NATO expansion, as uninitiated.

Conversations between Putin and Biden are likely to touch on other issues as well, including ongoing talks with Iran over its nuclear program, a US official said.