The presidents of Russia and the USA, Vladimir Putin and Joseph Biden, will talk via video link on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dimitriy Peskov said today.
Peskov added to RIA Novosti that "the presidents themselves will decide" how long the conversation will last.
The White House did not comment on the announcement.
Russia is more determined than ever that the US guarantees that Ukraine will not be admitted to NATO, AP reports.
US intelligence officials claim to have determined that Russia has stationed around 70.000 troops near the border with Ukraine and is planning an offensive as early as next year, a Biden administration official said.
US officials and former US diplomats say that while the Russian president is clearly laying the groundwork for a possible attack, Ukraine's military is now better armed and prepared than ever before and that sanctions threatened by the West would seriously damage the Russian economy.
On Friday, Biden said he was working on a "comprehensive initiative" that should make it harder for Putin to attack Ukraine.
"What I'm working on now is to put together the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to do what people fear," Biden said.
Ukrainian officials said Russia could attack Ukraine next month. Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said the number of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea was estimated at 94.300, and warned that a "large-scale escalation" was possible in January.
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