Biden talks with Vladimir Putin, raises concerns about Russian military buildup on Ukraine border

BRUSSELS (AP) – President Joe Biden is calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “de-escalate tensions” following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border. The White House says Biden told Putin in a phone call Tuesday that the U.S. would “act firmly in defense of its national interests” regarding Russian cyber intrusions and election interference. Biden also proposed a summit meeting in a third country “in the coming months” to discuss the full range of U.S.-Russia issues. There is growing concern in the West about a surge of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-baсked separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.