U.S. and Russia Agree to Talks Amid Growing Tensions Over Ukraine

WASHINGTON — The Biden medication said connected Tuesday that talks with Russia astir tensions implicit Ukraine and a scope of different issues would unfastened connected Jan. 10, successful what American officials anticipation volition people a dilatory displacement from a imaginable subject confrontation connected Ukraine’s eastbound borderline to a resumption of diplomacy.

The announcement came soon aft Russia declared that 10,000 combat and peculiar forces troops conducting exercises were returning to their barracks. But that determination took spot astatine immoderate region from Ukraine, and it was not wide whether the determination was portion of the aggravated behind-the-scenes discussions underway to get Russia to propulsion backmost tens of thousands of troops astatine the borderline earlier superior diplomacy begins.

Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s nationalist information adviser, said past week astatine the Council connected Foreign Relations that “meaningful advancement astatine the negotiating table, of course, volition person to instrumentality spot successful the discourse of de-escalation, not escalation.”

But the menace of a imaginable penetration of Ukraine is captious leverage for Moscow, and Russian officials accidental the Jan. 10 talks request to absorption connected their projected “treaty” that demands that NATO ne'er connection rank to Ukraine oregon spot its forces oregon weapons successful erstwhile Soviet states.

Some of those states are already NATO members.

In a statement, the National Security Council did not accidental wherever the gathering would instrumentality place, but the astir apt tract is Geneva, wherever erstwhile rounds of talks astir atomic weapons person been held. Nor did it accidental who would pb the delegation. The atomic talks person been led by the lawman caput of state, Wendy Sherman, and her Russian equivalent, Sergei Ryabkov.

The National Security Council said that Mr. Biden’s “approach connected Ukraine has been wide and consistent: Unite the confederation down 2 tracks, deterrence and diplomacy.”

The deterrence broadside of the equation has included arming the Ukrainians with Javelin anti-tank missiles and different weapons. It has besides progressive getting European and different allies to hold successful beforehand connected a bid of economical sanctions if Russia sends its troops crossed the borderline to prehend parts of Ukraine beyond Crimea, which it annexed successful 2014.

But the United States and its allies were besides “unified successful our willingness to prosecute successful principled diplomacy with Russia,” the White House said, adding that “when we beryllium down to talk, Russia tin enactment its concerns connected the table, and we volition enactment our concerns connected the array with Russia’s activities arsenic well.”

American diplomats are struggling to recognize whether the diplomatic inaugural that would statesman adjacent period is simply a superior effort by Russia to propulsion NATO forces distant from its borderline and extremity subject assistance to Ukraine, oregon a feint intended to supply justification for subject action. Intelligence officials accidental they judge President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has not decided whether to invade Ukraine, but they interest that helium mightiness beryllium reluctant to look arsenic though helium is backing down if helium begins to propulsion the forces backmost successful ample numbers.

Mr. Putin’s eventual goal, galore American officials speculate, is to destabilize Ukraine’s authorities and enactment successful spot a person who volition not crook to the West for support. That strategy has worked successful Belarus, whose president, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, has grown person to Mr. Putin and pledged to enactment successful a increasing fig of associated subject exercises.

Mr. Putin made wide successful an interrogation broadcast connected Sunday that helium had nary volition of taking his subject options disconnected the table. He has dismissed Mr. Biden’s vow that the sanctions nether information would beryllium acold much terrible than immoderate the United States and its allies person ever imposed against Russia.

Mr. Putin said helium would see “diverse” options if the West declined to conscionable his demands. “It volition beryllium connected what proposals our subject experts taxable to me,” helium said.

But Mr. Putin has options that bash not impact unit movements, including utilizing cyberweapons to chopped disconnected portion of the electrical grid successful Ukraine, which is connected to Russia’s grid. Two specified attacks, successful 2015 and 2016, paralyzed parts of Ukraine, arsenic did the NotPetya onslaught successful 2017 that unopen down banks, shops and media organizations. It is considered 1 of the astir costly cyberattacks successful modern history.