Ukraine-Russia tensions, what is expected today

President Joe Biden will hold a conversation Sunday with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a White House official. In the last days of 2021, President Biden spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a bid to reduce tensions at the Ukraine-Russia border.

On Friday, President Biden told reporters that he had reiterated Mr. Putin's position, that an attack on Ukraine would face sanctions and an added US presence in Europe, where tensions are high amid an increase in Russia's military presence at the border. Phone conversations Thursday between the two leaders lasted 50 minutes.

The American president said he had agreed with Mr. Putin on the development of “major conferences” next month to help find a solution. He added that he expected progress from the negotiations. But Mr. Biden said that during his conversation with Mr. Putin, he had made it clear that this could only work if he (Putin) dropped tensions.

Biden-Putin talks pave the way for lower-level talks involving US-Russia security issues meeting on January 9th and 10th, attended by a Russian meeting - NATO on 12 January and a broader conference, including Russia, the US and other European countries, on January 13th.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried to lay the groundwork for these talks Friday during a call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and leaders of other countries.

In talks with the foreign ministers of Canada and Italy, Mr. Blinken discussed a united response to stop, as he said, further Russian aggression against Ukraine. / VOA