Sullivan told Yuriy Ushakov, foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, that any dialogue must be based on reciprocity and address our concerns about Russia´s actions, the White House said.

Sullivan and Ushakov also spoke last week about rising tensions between the two sides over increased Russian military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border.

Both officials have been in contact since the virtual summit on December 7 between Putin and Joe Biden who threatened Moscow to impose “strong” economic sanctions if Russian troops invade Ukraine.

Russian authorities strongly rejected their forces are about to begin such an action and claimed their troops move through their own territory for purely defensive purposes.

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