According to the US administration, President Joe Biden during Tuesday's talks with Vladmir Putin will touch on a number of different points of conversation.
Among other things, Biden is said to have expressed his concern about the arrest of opposition Alexei Navalny.
Furthermore, Biden is said to have pressured Vladmir Putin about Russian cyber espionage and gunfire on American soldiers in Afghanistan.
Nuclear weapons agreements were renewed
The conversation, which did not immediately appear to be cold talk, also led to some agreements.
The two presidents agreed to extend the nuclear deal, New Start, the last remnant of military agreements between the two nations.
The agreement, which regulates how many nuclear weapons the two nations may possess, was extended at the last minute before it would expire next month.
"In the next few days, the parties will complete the necessary procedures to ensure that the agreement continues to work," the Kremlin said after talks between the two presidents.
A cooler rhetoric
Unlike his predecessor, Donald Trump, Joe Biden has opted for a cooler rhetoric against the Russian government.
Biden has not expressed a desire to improve relations, but rather to "manage" the differences and preserve diplomatic relations between the countries.
As if the conversation between Putin and Biden was not already tense enough, it was preceded by another circumstance.
On Tuesday, Biden is said to have contacted Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, and stated that the United States' commitment to defense cooperation with Russia and that the United States was willing to act to defend itself.
“Frank and businesslike”
The Kremlin announced in a press release that the conversation between the two presidents had been "frank and businesslike" (roughly: sincere and businesslike), an expression that leaves some to be interpreted.
But Putin should also have congratulated Biden on the new presidency, and it should also have been stated that it is in both's interests to normalize relations.