WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and proposed the two hold a summit in a third country "in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia," according to the White House.

The call came days after Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky amid heightened concern about a massive buildup of Russian forces along Ukraine's border and in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that has been occupied by Russia since 2014.

Biden has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate border tensions with Ukraine and proposed the two leaders hold a summit in the coming months, the White House said.

The US president suggested their meeting take place "in a third country." The last Russia-US summit was held in Helsinki in July 2018. At the time, then-president Donald Trump was embroiled in investigations over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The Biden administration recently imposed sanctions on Russia over the assassination attempt on jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Meanwhile, anxiety has grown over the recent build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders.

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