Joe Biden, Vladamir Putin to meet virtually next week amid rising tensions over Ukraine

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will talk over a video call on Tuesday amid escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow due to the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border which is seen as a sign of possible invasion.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia's state news agency RIAN that the meeting will take place via video link on Tuesday evening, adding that the "presidents will decide themselves" how long the talks will last. Meanwhile, the White House has not immediately reacted to the development. President Biden on Friday had warned Russia that he is preparing a 'comprehensive' set of policies to stop any plans by Russia to invade Ukraine.

"I am in constant contact with our alliance in Europe and Ukraine. What I am doing is putting together what I believe will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do," he had said.

According to AP, US intelligence officials stated that around 70,000 troops have been stationed by Russia near its border with Ukraine. They also alleged that Moscow has begun planning for a potential invasion. Ukrainian officials have alleged that Russia could invade in January. Oleksii Reznikov, the defence minister of Ukraine, claimed that 94,300 troops have amassed at the border and warned about "large-scale escalation" next month. 

US urges Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine borders

Recently, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russia of heavy economic sanctions if it invades Ukraine. "We do know that he (Putin) is putting in place the capacity to do (attack) so in short order should he so decide," Blinken said.

He advised Kyiv to exercise restraint "because, again, the Russian playbook is to claim provocation for something that they were planning to do all along."

The European Union's Parliament in April had approved a move to abandon Russia from the SWIFT system of international payment system if it invaded Ukraine. This will block businesses in Russia from global financial systems.

(With AP inputs)