WASHINGTON — U.S. and Russian officials will hold security talks on Jan. 10 amid growing tension over Ukraine, a White House official confirmed.
"We are unified as an Alliance on the consequences Russia would face if it moves on Ukraine. But we are also unified in our willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with Russia," a National Security Council spokesperson told NBC News in a statement.
When the two countries speak, Russia "can put its concerns on the table, and we will put our concerns on the table with Russia's activities as well," the spokesperson said.
The meeting was first reported by Reuters.
Russia has assembled 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border, prompting fears of an invasion, but it has repeatedly denied that it has any plans to attack its neighbor. President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin in a virtual call this month that Russia would face “severe consequences” if it attacked Ukraine.
Further talks are expected on Jan. 12 and 13, the spokesperson added.
Earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated the talks were likely but the details hadn't been finalized yet.
"We are working towards diplomatic talks. There have been proposals put forward by the Russians— some we would agree with, some we certainly wouldn't agree with," she said at a briefing last week.
