Biden urges Putin to ease Ukraine tensions

US President Joe Biden urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to ease mounting tensions with neighboring Ukraine on Tuesday during a phone call, while the latter articulated his approaches to a political settlement of the issue.

It was the second exchange between them since Biden took office in January. The call took place as relations between Moscow and Washington, as well as European countries, come under rapidly growing strain from Russia's so-called military buildup near Ukraine.

"When exchanging opinions on the domestic Ukrainian crisis, Vladimir Putin outlined approaches to political settlement rooted in the Minsk Package of Measures," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Biden voiced concerns over the Russian military buildup on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions, a White House statement said.

"President Biden emphasized the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.

Summit proposed

As a new report from US intelligence said Russia was not seeking direct conflict with the US, the White House revealed Biden proposed a summit between the two leaders at a neutral venue.

"President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with US interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia," the White House statement said.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the summit was being proposed for "the coming months", which would mean "this summer".

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it will consider Biden's proposal.

"It is early to talk about this meeting in terms of specifics. This is a new proposal and it will be studied," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He added that there is still no set agenda for the summit, but said that "without a doubt bilateral ties are important" in areas of mutual interest.

Andrew Weiss, an analyst of Russia issues at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Biden's exchange with Putin reflected US concern with Ukraine and a desire to work with Russia where they may have common interests.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow has deployed troops to its western borders for "combat training exercises" in answer to NATO military moves.

"In response to the alliance's military activities that threaten Russia, we took appropriate measures," Shoigu said in televised remarks, adding the exercises would be completed within two weeks.