The White House official confirmed that U.S. and Russian officials will hold security talks on January 10, amid growing tensions over Ukraine.
We are unified as an Alliance on the consequences Russia would face if it moves on Ukraine. A National Security Council spokeswoman told NBC News that they were united in their willingness to engage in principled diplomacy with Russia.
Russia can put its concerns on the table when the two countries speak, and we'll put our concerns on the table with Russia's activities as well, said a spokeswoman.
Russia has assembled 100,000 troops along Ukraine's border, sparked fears of an invasion, but it has denied it has plans to attack its neighbor. In a virtual call this month, President Joe Biden warned Putin that Russia would face serious consequences if it attacked Ukraine.
The spokesperson said further talks are expected to take place on January 12 and 13th.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki indicated that the talks were likely but hadn't yet finalized the details.
We are working towards diplomatic talks. There have been proposals put forward by Russians - some we would agree with, some we wouldn't agree with, said Psaki at a briefing last week.