Russia Reveals New Details, Expectations for Biden-Putin Call

The high-profile virtual summit comes as Ukraine faces tens of thousands of recently mobilized Russian
troops and U.S. officials fear invasion as soon as next month.

By Paul D. Shinkman

Dec. 6, 2021, at 12:59 p.m.

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Russia Reveals Biden-Putin Call Expectations

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FILE - In this June 16, 2021, file photo President Joe Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in
Geneva, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

President Joe Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 16, 2021, in Geneva,
Switzerland(PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP-FILE)

Moscow on Monday revealed new details and expectations of the planned call between Russian
President Vladimir Putin and President Joe Biden on Tuesday, warning of a “deplorable” state of
relations between the two powers at a time U.S. officials believe war between Russia and Ukraine may
be imminent.

[ READ: Putin Spokesman: Russia Won’t Invade Ukraine – Unless it’s ‘Provoked’ ]
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered that assessment, according to a translation of his remarks to
reporters early Monday, as a part of a broader explanation for what the two governments planned for
the following day. The video call will take place at roughly 10 a.m. Eastern Time – 6 p.m. in Moscow –
and will be almost entirely in private, Peskov said. The first few moments of the exchange may be
released afterward, along with a readout of the broad themes they discussed.

But the gravity of the situation in Eastern Europe portends a tense exchange with low expectations the
two leaders will produce any sort of agreement worthy of revealing afterward.

Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine adjacent to the simmering
but deadly conflict that persists in its eastern reaches. It has mobilized forces in the strategically critical
Crimean Peninsula at southern Ukraine that it left there earlier this year under the auspices of military
training.

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