Alwaght- The US President Biden will talk to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Thursday about the Ukrainian border crisis, White House officials said.
The two sides will discuss ways out of the deepening crisis as the conditions, many analysts warn, appear to be heading to a war.
The Russian president requested Thursday’s call, which will be the second time in three weeks that the two leaders speak about tensions at the Ukrainian border.
The call will follow three weeks of furious behind-the-scenes negotiating, much of it between Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts.
On Wednesday, to prepare for the call, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and with his British, French and German counterparts, reported the New York Times.
Moscow has been accusing Kiev of seeking a military solution instead of a peaceful way out of the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian forces have been launching sporadic attacks on the areas held by pro-Russians using drones supplied by Turkey and other weaponry provided by the West.
Russia has warned against such actions, saying that it would not allow Kiev to settle the situation using force.
Over the past few months, Moscow deployed forces to the Ukrainian borders, ready to invade Ukraine if Kremlin red lines are broken, according to West.
The move was met by supports from NATO to Kiev government.
It is more than just eastern Ukraine problem
Ukraine is now a scene where Russia and the West are facing off. What started as a problem of relations caused by tensions in Donbas pro-separation region in Ukraine's east is now a Moscow-NATO standoff.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been seizing any opportunity to expand eastward and the developments in Ukraine have fed this agenda.
The Western allies of Ukraine have been deploying forces and weapons, though unofficially, to Ukraine in preparation for possible Russian invasion as they know Moscow cannot withstand its red lines being broken.
Last week, Russia asked the NATO to drop a bid from Kiev for membership in the Western military bloc because this would bring the latter next to the Russian borders, something Putin cannot tolerate.
The West is not afraid to start a new game with Russia even at the cost of the Ukrainian sovereignty. Russia seems to have accepted the challenge, trying to send a signal to pro-Western Kiev leaders that in a confrontation of the heavyweights they would be the ultimate losers if they decide to contribute to the Western agenda with their provocations.
