Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin Set Date for Video Talks as Ukraine Tensions Rise

 Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will share a video call Tuesday as tensions between the United States and Russia continue to simmer over a Russian troop buildup on the Ukraine border.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the date Saturday after first word came from Moscow.

Biden will press U.S. concerns about Russian military activities on the border and “reaffirm the United States’ support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” she said.

AP reports Putin will come to the call with concerns of his own and intends to express Russia’s opposition to any move to admit Ukraine into the NATO military alliance. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “the presidents will decide themselves” how long their talk will last while Putin has talked of “red lines” if NATO forces were deployed in the vicinity. 

Biden dismissed Putin’s “red line” Ukraine remarks on Friday as he left the White House for the weekend, as Breitbart News reported.

“I won’t accept anybody’s red line,” Biden replied when asked about comments Putin made Tuesday in Moscow about the Ukraine situation.

Earlier Friday, Biden said he was in lengthy talks with European allies to prevent Putin from acting in the region, and was crafting “the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do.”

The last known call between the leaders was in July, when Biden pressed Putin to rein in Russia-based criminal hacking gangs launching ransomware attacks against the United States.

Biden said the U.S. would take any necessary steps to protect critical infrastructure from such attacks.