Biden proposes summit with Putin

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW • U.S. President Joe Biden called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to reduce tensions stirred by a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border and proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of disputes.

The White House and the Kremlin reported only the second conversation between the two since Biden took office in January, after Western officials urged Moscow to end the buildup and Russia, in words recalling the Cold War, said its “adversary” should keep U.S. warships well away from the Crimea region.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and fighting has increased in recent weeks in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have battled Russian-backed separatists in a seven-year conflict that Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people.

In a sign of concern about tensions spinning out of control in the Ukraine crisis, Biden phoned Putin to propose they meet in a third country while underlining U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“President Biden also made clear that the United States will act firmly in defence of its national interests in response to Russia's actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference,” the White House said in a statement.

Biden also reaffirmed a goal to build “a stable and predictable relationship” with Russia and said a meeting in the coming months could address “the full range of issues” facing the two world powers.

The Kremlin said in its account of the call that Biden told Putin he wanted to normalize relations and to co-operate on arms control, Iran's nuclear program, Afghanistan and climate change. It confirmed Biden had proposed a high-level meeting but did not indicate how the Russian leader responded.

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Brussels for talks with NATO leaders and Ukraine's foreign minister, echoed Biden, saying Washington stood firmly behind Ukraine.

“The United States is our adversary and does everything it can to undermine Russia's position on the world stage,” deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian news agencies.

His remarks suggest that the diplomatic niceties which the old Cold War enemies have generally sought to observe in recent decades is fraying, and that Russia would robustly push back against what it regards as unacceptable U.S. interference in its geographical sphere of influence.

Two U.S. warships are due to arrive in the Black Sea this week in response to what U.S. and NATO officials say is the largest massing of Russian forces — with thousands of combat-ready troops — since Moscow seized Crimea from Ukraine.