Biden, Putin Will Have Phone Call on Thursday

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will have a phone conversation on Thursday to discuss a number of topics, including the security talks slated for early January, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said on Wednesday.

Putin and Biden faced each other virtually on December 7, six months after meeting in person in Geneva.

"President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will hold a phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Thursday, December 30, 2021 to discuss a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia," Horne said in a statement.

Biden has had numerous contacts with allies prior to the upcoming call, the official noted.

"Biden has spoken with leaders across Europe, and Biden Administration officials have engaged multilaterally with NATO, the EU, and the OSCE. Officials have also held numerous consultations with their counterparts, including those from eastern flank countries bilaterally and in the B9 format as well as Ukraine," she added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Sputnik plans for phone talks between the leaders of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.

"Indeed, a phone conversation between Putin and the US president is scheduled for late tomorrow evening," Peskov said.

The US and Russia will hold talks on arms control and Ukraine on January 10. Negotiations on security guarantees with NATO are expected to take place on January 12 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Biden, Putin Not Expected to Participate in Upcoming Geneva Security Talks

The presidents of the United States and Russia, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, will not participate in the upcoming security negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, a senior White House official said on Wednesday.

“President Biden and President Putin are not expected to participate in the talks in Geneva,” the official said during a press briefing.

The US delegation in Geneva will be led by the State Department and will include representatives of the Department of Defense, as well as representatives from the National Security Council, the official added.

During the upcoming phone call the two presidents will likely discuss Iran and the diplomatic efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

"The two leaders discussed this at some length when they held their video call a couple of weeks ago, and I do believe that they're likely to discuss it again tomorrow, given that we have ongoing talks in Vienna now and the US, our European partners, and the Russians have been coordinating quite closely in Vienna, working quite constructively together in Vienna," the official journalists.

“Tomorrow, President Biden will speak with President Putin by telephone at the request of the Russian side… The two presidents will discuss the upcoming dialogue with Russia on a range of security and strategic issues, and those include bilateral talks through the Strategic Stability Dialogue as well as the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE Permanent Council meeting, all of which will take place the week of January 10,” the official added.

The United States and its allies and partners are prepared to discuss the concerns laid out by Russia, and will communicate concerns of their own and expect Moscow to be prepared to discuss them as well, the official also said.

It will take a high level of engagement to find a path towards de-escalation, so Biden will listen closely to what Putin has to say and share comments of his own, the official noted.

The US official also highlighted that the United States continues to see a significant Russian troop presence near Ukraine's border. So, the United States is ready to provide Ukraine with additional security assistance should Russia carry out an invasion.

"We are prepared to provide Ukraine with further assistance to defend its territory and respond to a Russian occupation should a further invasion proceed in the coming weeks," the US official said during the conference call with reporters.

The United States has made plans to reinforce its NATO allies in the event of a further escalation of the situation regarding Russia and Ukraine.

"We’ve made plans to reinforce NATO’s force posture in allied states in the event of a further invasion, which would destabilize the security situation in Europe and demand adjustments to NATO forces and capabilities, especially on the eastern flank," the official emphasized.