Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden will speak on the phone on Thursday to discuss topical aspects of the security guarantee talks, which will be held by Moscow and Washington after the New Year holidays, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The call will continue the discussion that started at the virtual meeting, besides, a number of topical issues associated with the talks planned for [January] 10, 11, 12 will be addressed," Peskov said at a press briefing on Thursday.

It will be a phone call between the two presidents, so neither part of it will be public, Peskov said, adding that the negotiations had been initiated by Putin.

As to the time of the phone call, which is scheduled to begin at 11:30 p.m., Peskov said, "It is quite normal, considering the time difference, so this is not a problem. As you know, the Russian president has never viewed late hours as a problem, especially as he often continues intensive work late into the night."

"The goal of this conversation is crystal-clear: it aims to continue to discussion of items on the agenda of the relatively recent videoconference," Peskov said.

Journalists asked Peskov why Putin and Biden needed to speak on the phone before the Russian-U.S. security guarantee talks planned for January 10. "This is because of the substance, the items on the agenda are extremely complicated," he said.

Since the previous Putin-Biden conversation, which took place on December 7, Russia has formulated its stance, as promised, in the drafts of two documents presented to Washington and the European capitals, he said.

"So, now, from our point of view, from the viewpoint of President Putin, there is need for another phone call to precede the aforesaid negotiations," Peskov said.

A lot of things could be discussed by the Russian and U.S. presidents before the consultations, he said.

"Any talk is held with only one purpose [in mind] - reaching a compromise with due account of each other's fundamental position," Peskov said.