US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he expects to announce by the end of this week a high-level meeting between Russia, the United States and four other key NATO countries to address Moscow's concerns about the alliance's activities in eastern Europe.
"We hope by Friday we're going to be able to announce to you that we're having a meeting at a higher level, not just with us, but at least with four of our major NATO allies and Russia to discuss the future of Russia's concerns relative to NATO," Biden said.
Biden pointed out that the meeting will be focused on whether an accommodation can be worked out to bring down tensions along NATO's eastern front.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed to Biden that NATO was making dangerous attempts to conquer Ukrainian territory and was building up its military potential near Russia's border. Putin also said that Moscow was interested in obtaining reliable, legally fixed guarantees that NATO would not expand eastward and would not deploy offensive weapons in countries bordering Russia.
Biden said he warned Putin on Tuesday that there would be severe economic consequences should Russia invade Ukraine.
In addition, Biden said the United States would also be required to reinforce its presence in NATO countries and would provide a defensive capability to Ukraine in the event of an invasion.
However, Biden said the United States does not currently plan to deploy US troops to Ukraine or to use unilateral force to counter a potential Russian offensive.
US and Russian diplomatic teams have been in constant contact to discuss these pressing issues, Biden added. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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