President Joe Biden is receiving regular updates on the Russia-Ukraine crisis while meeting privately with his national security team, the White House said Monday.
The update came as the world waited to see whether Russia would invade Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of France and Germany on Monday that he planned to sign a decree recognizing Luhansk and Donetsk, two breakaway regions controlled by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, as independent entities.
That news lessened the likelihood of a last-minute bid for a summit to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine.
"President Biden is meeting with his national security team at the White House today and is being regularly briefed on developments regarding Russia and Ukraine," a White House official said.
Biden had no public events scheduled on the Presidents' Day federal holiday.
It had been reported earlier Monday that Biden asked French President Emmanuel Macron to make the offer of a summit between Biden and Putin to the Russian leader.
The White House said Sunday that Biden agreed "in principle" to meet with Putin so long as Russia does not invade Ukraine.
On Friday, Biden said he was "convinced" that Putin had decided to launch a further invasion in Ukraine, saying he has "reason to believe" it will occur in the "coming days" and will include an assault on its capital, Kyiv.
As many as 190,000 Russian troops have moved near the Ukraine border.
The U.S. has threatened Moscow with harsh international sanctions if it invades Ukraine.
The Biden administration has prepared an initial package of sanctions against Russia that includes barring U.S. financial institutions from processing transactions for major Russian banks, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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