The Kremlin: Video meeting between Putin and Biden on Tuesday
The Kremlin announced on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Joe Biden will hold a video conference on Tuesday, in an expected meeting that coincides with the escalation of tension between Moscow and the West, against the background of the Americans accusing Russia of preparing an imminent invasion of Ukraine.
The Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as "confirming" that the meeting would take place on Tuesday, while the RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying that the meeting would take place "in the evening" (Russian time), provided that "the two presidents will determine how long it will take."
The announcement of this meeting, which Moscow and Washington have been preparing for several days, comes in the midst of tension between Russia and Western countries over Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly denied any hostile intentions towards Kiev, accusing Western countries of intensifying their "provocations", in particular by holding military exercises in the Black Sea.
And on Friday, Biden confirmed that he was in "constant contact" with US and Ukrainian allies, and said at the White House, "I am preparing what will become, I think, a set of initiatives that will be the most complete and the best to make it very, very difficult for Putin to do what people fear he is doing."
To ease tension, Moscow wants "security guarantees", especially an assurance that NATO will not continue to expand to the east, especially through Ukraine's accession to it.
But Kiev categorically refuses to abandon its project to join the alliance, which has been officially on the table since 2008, but it remained a dead letter.
Kiev's accession to the military alliance will mean that other member states, led by the United States, will be required to intervene militarily to defend Ukraine in the event of aggression.
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