"I would hope that the two will look to de-escalate the tensions and one from a diplomatic perspective versus the constant aggressive rhetoric that has been common with the US current foreign policy team", Rasmussen said.
Biden and Putin are expected to discuss the escalating crisis in Ukraine among other topics such as strategic stability in a video call later in the day. The secure video conference will be held six months after the two presidents held a face-to-face meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
Rasmussen said the Putin-Biden virtual summit is taking place amid challenges around the world, including in Ukraine, Belarus, Afghanistan, Syria, as well as with respect to the Iran nuclear agreement and COVID-19 vaccines.
Speaking of Ukraine, Rasmussen stressed that US Secretary of State Anony Blinken's recent meetings with his counterparts from Kiev and the Baltic States had intensified rather than calmed the situation in the region.
"I believe that there are differing perspectives inside the Biden administration, some of whom do not want a successful meeting. Let's hope that calmer minds succeed", Rasmussen added.
Over the past several weeks, US media outlets have hyped up the story of an "imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine", with Kiev and its Western allies claiming Moscow is building up its troops on the Ukrainian border. Russia has flatly rejected the accusations, stressing that it has the right to move the nation's troops within its own territory and at its own discretion. The Kremlin has also stressed that "Russian invasion" claims are "absurd", and that the country has no plans to attack anyone. At the same time, Moscow has expressed its own concerns regarding Ukrainian troop deployment on the contact line with the Donbass region in the east of Ukraine.