US President Joe Biden will hold talks on Thursday evening with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Ukraine crisis.
The talks are the second time of its kind in this month. The talks aimed to de-escalate tensions and discuss Ukraine crisis.
They will further discuss forthcoming security talks between the countries and the situation in Europe, a White House official said.
Russia, which has built up forces on the border with Ukraine, denies planning to invade the country.
It says its troops are there for exercises, and as it can move its troops freely on its own soil.
Hours before the call, Putin told Biden in a holiday message he was “convinced” the pair could work together based on “mutual respect and consideration of each other’s national interests”.
New Agreement
Russia and Ukraine have reached a new agreement to restore a 2020 ceasefire deal in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak hailed the deal, saying the coming holidays “should be peaceful”.
The deal was brokered by Europe’s OSCE security organisation as a step towards de-escalation.
The agreement coincides with heightened tensions in the region.
The EU-Russian relations have witnessed a setback over several issues, mainly Kremlin-orchestrated cyber-attacks and election interference, the frozen conflict in eastern Ukraine, and the poisoning and jailing of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the EU has imposed a set of tight sanctions on Russia.