(Bloomberg) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken Wednesday, Interfax reported, the first direct contact between officials of the two countries in weeks as tensions grow amid western fears Russia may be planning to invade Ukraine.

Lavrov will hold talks with Blinken on the sidelines of and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting in Stockholm, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a weekly press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.

Russia said earlier this week it’s making preparations for a conversation between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, their first since a massive Russian military buildup near Ukraine’s borders sparked alarm. Biden said last week he expects to speak to Putin soon but the U.S. hasn’t given and details on timing.

Early this month, Biden dispatched Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns to Moscow to warn officials about U.S. concerns on the buildup near Ukraine. Among other meetings, Burns spoke to Putin by phone, as well. But western worries about the massing of forces have not abated since then. 

Putin on Tuesday warned the West not to cross Russia’s security “red line” by stationing North Atlantic Treaty Organization military infrastructure in Ukraine. This would leave Moscow at the risk of attack in as little as five minutes and force his country to respond by taking counter-measures, he said. The U.S. and U.K. said any Russian incursion into Ukraine would trigger serious diplomatic and economic responses.

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