A grim-faced President Biden spoke with an equally solemn Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for more than an hour Thursday as the White House denied the president was urgingxc2xa0the Kiev government to make concessions to Russia in order to head off a possible invasion.xc2xa0

The 76-minute call between Biden and Zelensky was followed by a 40-minute call from the president to the leaders of nine NATO member countries in Eastern Europe.

The White House did not immediately release readouts of the calls.

Russia has massed thousands of troops near Ukrainexe2x80x99s borders as part of what US officials fear could be a prelude to an invasion as soon as early next year.

Bidenxc2xa0spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putinxc2xa0for two hours Tuesday and threatened economic consequences, but told reporters Wednesday thatxc2xa0US troops wonxe2x80x99t be sent to Ukrainexc2xa0to deter potential Russian adventurism.

Biden said Wednesday he hopes to announce that new high-level talks over the crisis would take place involving Americaxe2x80x99s European allies.

xe2x80x9cWe hope by Friday wexe2x80x99re going to be able to say xe2x80xa6 wexe2x80x99re having meetings at a higher level, not just with us, but whatxe2x80x99s the xe2x80x94 [at] least four of our major NATO allies and Russia to discuss the future of Russiaxe2x80x99s concerns relative to NATO writ large and whether or not we could work out any accommodation as it relates to bringing down the temperature,xe2x80x9d he said.

Bloomberg reported that announcement had sounded alarmsxc2xa0in eastern European capitals, with countries once under Soviet domination anxious about any potential concessions to the Kremlin by NATO.xc2xa0

xe2x80x9cRussia should under no circumstances be given a say in who may or may not be a member of NATO,xe2x80x9d Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters Thursday, according to Bloomberg.xc2xa0

Kallas added that Moscowxe2x80x99s xe2x80x9cmost worrying wish is to divide Europe into spheres of influence. We remember these kinds of moments from our own history and we are in no way naive on this issue.xe2x80x9d

Thexc2xa0Associated Press reported Thursdayxc2xa0thatxc2xa0White Housexc2xa0officials suggested that the US will press Ukraine to cede some autonomy toxc2xa0regionsxc2xa0of eastern Ukraine that are currently controlled by Russia-backed separatists who rebelled against the Kiev government in 2014. An undefined xe2x80x9cspecial statusxe2x80x9d for those areas was laid out in an ambiguous, European-brokered peace deal in 2015, but it never took hold.

Republicans condemned reports of the move by the White House, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) accusing the administration of xe2x80x9cappeasementxe2x80x9d of Russia.

xe2x80x9cJoe Biden and Biden-Harris officials are pushing Ukraine to give up territory to Putin in exchange for promises that he wonxe2x80x99t invade even further, for now,xe2x80x9d Cruz tweeted. xe2x80x9cItxe2x80x99s the literal definition of appeasement. Utterly disgraceful.xe2x80x9d

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday denied that Biden would press Ukraine to cede territory when a reporter asked if that possibility was under consideration.

xe2x80x9cNo, that is absolutely false,xe2x80x9d said Psaki, thoughxc2xa0the question of granting the breakaway regions greater autonomy was not raised.

Biden was vice president during the 2014 Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea and the start of the ongoing civil war waged by the eastern Ukraine rebels.

Republicans also have blasted Biden for allowing Russia to complete construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is nearly operational. The White Housexc2xa0waived sanctionsxc2xa0against the project in May, with Biden citing the fact that the pipeline wasxc2xa0xe2x80x9calmost completely finished.xe2x80x9d

Nord Stream 2 will allow Russia to send natural gas directly to Germany, bypassing Ukraine and depriving the Kiev government of lucrative gas transfer fees. Critics say it will enhance Moscowxe2x80x99s leverage over Ukraine.

With Post wires