Washington, US President Joe Biden plans to talk on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, the White House National Security Council has announced.

The talks would be to prepare consultations at diplomatic level, it said. This probably refers to a meeting planned for 10 January in Geneva on the Ukraine conflict, which has been escalating for weeks, and the NATO security guarantees demanded by Moscow.

The Kremlin confirmed the planned telephone call. According to the Interfax agency, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the talks were planned for late in the evening.

The White House said the call was scheduled for 20:30 GMT today.

The talks were at Russia’s request, a senior administration official said, adding that it is in the interest of both sides to hold direct talks to avoid escalation.

Source: Oman News Agency