The talks are scheduled for Jan. 10 and will focus, among other things, on tensions around Ukraine.

For the past several months, Russia has been amassing troops near its border with Ukraine in what U.S. intelligence assessed as preparations for a full-scale invasion in early 2022.

Russiaxe2x80x99s Defense Ministry said Saturday that 10,000 troops had returned to their permanent deployment locations after completing exercises near the border with Ukraine. The Biden administration has repeatedly warned Russia and threatened economic sanctions over a possible invasion of Ukraine, saying the U.S. is xe2x80x9cready to act if and when we need to,xe2x80x9d while also engaging diplomatically with Russia. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate tensions.

Russia demands security guarantees from the U.S. and NATO, including a binding promise that NATO will not expand further east and will not allow Ukraine to join the military alliance.

According to Russian businessmen, common sense and negotiation are essential to the failure of the war.