On Sunday, the White House confirmed that President Joe Biden had agreed “in principle” to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, amid growing concerns that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time.
The White House said in a statement that the summit between the two leaders was conditional on Russia not taking military action in Ukraine.
“President Biden has agreed in principle to meet with President Putin, if there is no invasion. [en Ucrania]’,” the White House said.
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed the summit on Sunday, and spoke with the two leaders.
So far, there is no specific date for the meeting, in which “other relevant concerned persons to discuss security and strategic stability in Europe” will participate.
Details of the summit will be discussed at a meeting between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday.
The Russian government has announced that it will conduct exercises to test its nuclear arsenal.
Biden said Friday that he was “convinced” that Putin had already made the decision to invade neighboring Ukraine.
Western fears of an invasion have risen in recent months, after Russia massed more than 150,000 troops near Ukraine’s border.
Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014. For nearly eight years, pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces in the east of the country. The United States and the European Union previously imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea.
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