WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2021) US President Joe Biden's call with the leaders of the Bucharest Nine group to discuss the alleged Russian escalation near the Ukraine border lasted 40 minutes, the White House press pool said.
The White House press pool said on Thursday that the call between Biden and the leaders of the Bucharest Nine group lasted from 3:17 p.m. to 3:57 p.m. ET (15:17 to 15:37 GMT).
The Bucharest Nine group is composed of countries from Central and Eastern Europe and includes Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Earlier on Thursday, the White House press pool said Biden called the leaders of the Bucharest Nine group to discuss his recent virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin about concerns over the situation in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Putin explained to Biden Russia's "red lines" over the further advance of NATO into Eastern Europe and the deployment of offensive weapons in Ukraine.
Putin also expressed interest in obtaining reliable, legally fixed guarantees that NATO will halt its eastward expansion and stop the military build-up in countries bordering Russia.
