The pictures were created on December 6, 2021, and show US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a congress of the United Russia party in Moscow on December 4, 2021.
A senior administration official told reporters Monday that President Joe Biden will warn Putin that the U.S. is prepared to impose economic sanctions if Moscow attacks Ukraine.
The video call will be held on Tuesday against a backdrop of heightened tensions caused by the deployment of Russian troops and equipment along the country's border with Ukraine.
The official said that the movements were consistent with the planning that was underway for a military escalation in Ukraine.
The official said that they had had intensive discussions with their European partners about what they would do in the event of a major Russian military escalation. We believe that we have a path forward that would involve substantial economic countermeasures by both Europe and the United States that would impose significant and severe economic harm on the Russian economy, should they choose to proceed.
The official wouldn't say if the U.S. would take military action against Russia.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has warned Washington and European allies that Russian troops have amassed along its eastern border. The annexation of the Black Sea peninsula provoked international uproar and led to sanctions against Moscow. There was a war in eastern Ukraine after the invasion.
The unclassified document shows that Russian military activity is close to the border with Ukraine.
We don't know if President Putin has decided to escalate the situation in Ukraine. The senior Biden administration official said that he knows that he is putting in place the capacity to engage in such escalation.
The official said that they have seen this Russian plan before, when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014).
The Kremlin denied that it was preparing for an attack on Ukraine and defended its right to deploy troops on its own territory.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the world's most powerful military alliance and has been pointed to as a reason to accelerate its membership bid by Ukraine. In 2002 it was announced that Ukraine would seek to join NATO. Russia has said that Ukraine's ambition to join the alliance is a red line.
The state of the U.S. and Russian relations was described by the Kremlin as "lamentable".
The situation around NATO and Ukraine will be discussed. President Putin wants long-term guarantees of Russia's security. All of the topics will be discussed during the call, Peskov said at the press conference.
The bilateral relations are still in a bad state.
Last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Moscow to de-escalate tensions and reiterated that the alliance's commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity remains steadfast.
Ukraine is an independent nation. Every independent nation has the right to choose its own path and what security arrangements it wants to be part of. It's up to Ukraine and 30 allies when to join the alliance, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Russia has no right to interfere in the process, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
