Blinken: Biden offers to meet Putin 'in coming weeks'

U.S. President Joe Biden invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet "in the coming weeks," the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Blinken said the U.S. would prefer a stable and predictable relationship with Russia. According to him, this would require certain lines of communication to exchange views on a wide range of issues.

"We would prefer a stable and predictable relationship with Russia, and that, in turn, requires open lines of communication," Blinken said. "And that's exactly what you saw yesterday with President Biden picking up the phone to call President Putin and also proposing that they meet in the weeks ahead."

In a phone conversation, Biden suggested holding a meeting on the territory of a third country. At the moment, neither Washington nor Moscow have specified where this meeting could take place.

In accordance with the White House statement on Tuesday, Putin and Biden "discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty."