Meeting that could avoid conflict, Beden and Putin will talk to Ukraine on December 7th

This virtual meeting comes at a time of increasing international concerns over Moscow's goals as NATO and Western armies, as well as intelligence officials, say there is a large gathering of the Russian Army near the border with Ukraine.

Washington and Kiev say Moscow has collected tens of thousands of troops, along with tanks and artillery in western Russia, and could plan an offensive in early January.

The Reuters agency has quoted US administration officials who have said President Biden plans to express US concerns about Russia's military activity and would stress Washington's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

On 2 December, Beden said he is working on a series of initiatives to make “very, very difficult” for Putin to scale militarily against Ukraine.

For seven years, Ukraine has been waging a war in the country's east against Russia-backed separatists since Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

An unidentified White House official said Biden and Putin would also discuss a host of other topics.

Russia offers military and diplomatic support to the former Soviet republic, Belarus. The regime in this state for 16 months has suppressed protests that followed last August's controversial presidential elections, which Alyaxand Lucashenka claims he won.

A crisis on the border between Belarus and members of the European Union, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland has begun since Minsk increased direct flights from the Middle East. The EU says Belarus is using as <x0m” migrants from third states.