Washington is "deeply concerned" about the deployment of Russian troops near Ukraine.

The American president plans to show his colleague in Moscow two ways.

In the event of further Russian military intervention in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden plans to threaten Russian President Vladimir Putin with severe sanctions.

A senior White House official said Biden would argue for a diplomatic solution in a telephone conversation with Putin Thursday night - but also stressed his willingness to take punitive action.

"We have agreed with our allies to impose tough sanctions on the Russian economy and financial system - much more comprehensive than those implemented in 2014," said a spokesman for the US government, who did not want to be identified.

At the time, Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula and began supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"There is a diplomatic channel"

In the event of a further Russian invasion of Ukraine, there are already plans to expand NATO's presence in Eastern European member states and strengthen its capabilities, the US envoy said.

In addition, we are ready to "provide additional support to Ukraine" so that it can defend its territory and respond to a possible Russian invasion, he said.

"President Biden will specify that there is a diplomatic route to de-escalation in the region if President Putin has an interest in pursuing this path," he added.

For his part, the Russian head of state expressed optimism.

He is "convinced that we can move forward and establish an effective Russian-American dialogue," Putin said in a New Year's telegram to Biden, according to the Kremlin.

The preconditions are "mutual respect" and "awareness of the national interests of the other".

The White House has said that the planned telephone conversation with Biden will take place this Thursday evening.

The conversation comes at the request of Russia, the US representative explained.

Both sides are said to be very interested in direct talks to avoid escalation in the face of the growing Russian military presence near the Ukrainian border.

Memories of 2014

For weeks, the United States has criticized Russia for massively deploying troops near the border with Ukraine.

The West fears a Russian invasion.

Moscow rejects the idea and accuses Ukraine of deploying additional troops to the region.

These developments are reminiscent of the Crimean conflict in 2014 and the annexation of the peninsula by Russia at the time.

Last week, Putin said he was ready to find a diplomatic solution, but in return called for security guarantees, especially the end of NATO's eastward expansion and the consequent withdrawal of Ukraine from NATO membership.

Some members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have rejected the request.

"Strong support"

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken first spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky on Wednesday and then, in a video chat, with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her counterparts in France and France, Britain.

The diplomats reaffirmed "strong support" for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Washington said.

Biden and Putin spoke in early December in a nearly two-hour videoconference.

As heads of state they had met in person for the first time in June in Geneva, Switzerland.

Representatives from Washington and Moscow will also meet in Geneva on January 10.

The meeting will also be about the Ukrainian conflict and the security guarantees that Moscow is seeking from NATO.

NATO, for its part, is planning talks with the Russian side on January 12.

Furthermore, representatives of Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will meet on 13 January.

"There are no untouched spectators"

According to Western observers, direct military intervention by the United States or NATO in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is unlikely.

Washington and its European allies are expected to respond with drastic economic sanctions.

In particular, the exclusion of Russia from the international payment system of the SWIFT organization, based in Belgium, would be considered.

Such a move would also hurt Russia's energy sector, one of the country's main economic sectors.

The White House has said the US government is in close contact with its European allies and partners over talks with Moscow.

The principle will be followed that nothing that affects Europeans will be decided without them, the US official promised.

Earlier, voices were heard in Brussels demanding that the European Union be involved in the planned talks in Geneva.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told Die Welt: "We do not want to and should not be spectators involved, and where decisions are made without asking them."

/ DW /