Source: Sharecast
Russia and the US reportedly agreed in principle to a summit of their respective leaders, bolstering hopes of a peaceful resolution of the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
The summit between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden was brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron with the details reportedly set to be agreed by Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at a meeting scheduled for 24 February.
That summit would be followed by another with the relevant stakeholders in security and strategic stability in Europe.
The White House confirmed the announcement made earlier by France's Elysee palace, emphasising that the summit between Biden and Putin was contingent on an invasion of Ukraine not materialising.
Overnight, the White House said: "We are always ready for diplomacy. We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war.
"And currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon."
According to one US official, Washington would withdraw from the talks if Moscow made further moves toward invading Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later reportedly said that no "concrete plans" were in place for a meeting, although a call or meeting could be set up at any moment.
"It's premature to talk about any specific plans for organising any kind of summits," he was quoted as saying.
However, Russian Daily Kommersant reported that Putin was scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting of the country's Security Council on Monday.
"President Putin will convene a meeting of the Russian Security Council. It's a big Security Council," Peskov, the Russian presidential spokesman, told Kommersant.
Peskov was said to have stressed that it would be an irregular meeting and that he would report on the topic later.
"Also, the president has several international telephone conversations planned today," Peskov added.
The Elysee also announced that the trilateral contact group, which included the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Russia and Ukraine, was due to convene on Monday with the aim of restoring a cease-fire in Ukraine's Donbass region.
Over the weekend, Belarussia's defence ministry had said that military drills in the country with Russian units would be extended past their original end date of 20 February.
The ministry cited the build-up`of NATO forces near the Belarussian and Russian borders and the worsening situation in Donbass.
In one of two phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin blamed Ukrainian forces for the spike in tensions in the Donbass, noting NATO countries’ steps aimed at "pumping Ukraine with advanced weapons and ammunition" and alleged that Ukraine was only pretending to be engaged in negotiations while refusing to implement the Minsk peace accords.
