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US Presidents Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to discuss the Russian troop buildup near Ukraine. The move came on Thursday during their 2^nd call in recent weeks following little progress toward ending the smoldering crisis. The White House indicated that President Biden would make clear to Putin that a diplomatic path remains open even as the Russians have moved an estimated 100 thousand troops toward Ukraine. However, Putin has stepped up his demands for security guarantees precluding NATO from expanding to Ukraine. Those demands will be discussed by senior US and Russian officials during talks on Jan. 10 in Geneva. But Biden will reiterate to Putin that there should be real progress in the talks and they must be conducted in a context of de-escalation, instead of escalation.

Moreover, the call was set up on Putin’s initiative. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the objective of the conversation is clear to continue discussing the issues that were on the agenda during the recent conversation via video conference. However, Dec. 7 phone call focused on the Russian troop movements, which have unsettled Ukraine and other European allies, as well as Moscow’s demand for security guarantees. Peskov pointed out that Moscow has submitted its security proposals to US and European officials and now from our point of view, the need has arisen for another telephone conversation, which would preface the upcoming talks. The official said Biden and Putin met in Geneva in June to discuss an array of tensions in the US-Russia relationship and they were not expected to take part in the January talks.

The White House said in the Dec. 7 video call that Biden put Moscow on notice that an invasion of Ukraine would bring sanctions and enormous harm to the Russian economy. But Russian officials have dismissed the sanction threats. Moscow and NATO representatives are expected to meet shortly after the upcoming Geneva talks as are Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which includes the United States. In the draft security documents, Moscow submitted a demand that NATO denies membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. The US and its allies have rejected to offer Russia the kind of guarantees on Ukraine that Putin needs.