Biden and Putin agree for summit if Russia does not invade Ukraine

United States President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed "in principle" to meet and discuss the 'security and strategic stability in Europe'. However, the pre-condition for talks is that Russia does not invade Ukraine.

The proposal for the summit between the two leaders was made by French President Emmanuel Macron who spoke to his US and Russian counterparts on the phone. The announcement by Paris comes even as Russia and Ukraine continue to accuse each other of being responsible for the new fighting in the separatist east of Ukraine.

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The modalities of the summit are to be discussed during the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken later this week on Thursday.

According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the United States was always ready for diplomacy. However, the country was also ready to impose 'swift and severe' consequences if Moscow were to choose war. 

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Psaki said that at the moment, Russia seemed like going ahead with its preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine soon.

American satellite imagery firm Maxar has released photographs showing new deployments of Russian troops and military equipment on the Ukrainian border. The new photos, taken on Sunday, show traces of vehicles crossing snowy fields.

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Moscow, however, has refuted claims being made about an imminent plan to invade Ukraine. At the same time, it remains adamant on assurances that Ukraine will never join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or NATO. So far, the Russian demand has been rejected by the West. 

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