Sergey Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stressed that Moscow is ready for negotiations on Ukraine if the Ukrainian army puts down its weapons

The White House is not planning a summit between the presidents of the United States and Russia, said Joe Biden's spokeswoman Jen Psaki. She explained this by the escalation of the crisis between Moscow and Kyiv.

"President Biden is open to diplomacy, but the moment Putin is preparing to invade a sovereign state is not suitable for top-level talks," Saki said.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said earlier today that Kiev could sever diplomatic relations with Russia after Moscow decided to recognize two regions of eastern Ukraine as independent, Reuters reports.

Russia on Sunday rescinded earlier pledges to pull tens of thousands of its troops back from Ukraine's northern border, a move that U.S. leaders said put Russia another step closer to what they said was the planned invasion of Ukraine.

Residents of Ukraine's capital filled a gold-domed cathedral to pray for peace.

The Russian and American sides accepted the offer, it is stated in the announcement of the lyse Palace.
"Macron proposed holding a summit between President Biden and President Putin, and then with other stakeholders, on security and strategic stability in Europe. Presidents Biden and Putin generally accepted the idea of such a summit," the statement said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN's Frederick Pleitgen that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "ready to negotiate", saying the crisis in Ukraine was only part of Russia's security concerns.

Biden and Johnson: There is still Hope for a Diplomatic Solution in Ukraine

The Kremlin and the West held out the possibility of a diplomatic path out of the Ukraine crisis, even as Russia appeared to continue preparations for a potential invasion, including moving troops military hardware closer to its neighbor.

Tensions have been rising for weeks, with Washington warning that it fears an imminent invasion and that more than 100,000 Russian troops are near the Ukrainian border.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on on Feb. 12 accused the United States of seeking to provoke a conflict in Ukraine, during a call with his US counterpart Antony Blinken, the Russian foreign ministry said.

Hopes are rising that efforts to stop Russia from invading Ukraine may be starting to pay off, as the diplomatic push picks up Thursday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to meet Baltic leaders in Berlin and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson heading to NATO and Poland.