US President Joe Biden agreed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during phone talks on Wednesday to demand that Russia reduce the number of its forces deployed at the Ukrainian border, amid worsening field conditions.
A spokesman for the German Chancellor said that Merkel and Biden had agreed to request Russia to "reduce its recent military reinforcements" at the eastern borders of Ukraine, to allow "de-escalation."
On Wednesday, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp Karnbauer accused Russia of "provocation" by massing forces at the border with Ukraine.
Moscow has massed tens of thousands of soldiers at the borders of this former Soviet republic, which aspires to join NATO.
Biden had called Tuesday on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to "reduce the escalating tensions" with Ukraine, to join a group of Western countries that condemned Moscow´s mobilization of its forces at the Ukrainian border, which angered NATO.
