A huge video screen on Sword Beach shows U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin as they arrive for the International 70th D-Day Commemoration Ceremony in Ouistreham June 6, 2014. World leaders and veterans gathered by the beaches
A huge video screen on Sword Beach shows U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin as they arrive for the International 70th D-Day Commemoration Ceremony in Ouistreham June 6, 2014. World leaders and veterans gathered by the beaches of Normandy on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings that helped turn the tables in World War Two. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Western leaders will be meeting in a week to discuss various global issues including ISIS, counterterrorism, Ebola and Russia's alleged involvement in the Ukraine conflict. U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron will be having a working dinner and a meeting at the White House.

According to an official statement, the two leaders will hold discussions in the Oval Office on January 16. The press release said the UK has always been a close friend and "steadfast ally" of the U.S. Mr Obama is looking forward to begin the New Year by working closely with Mr Cameron on pressing issues to strengthen ties between the U.S. and UK.

The U.S. and its Western allies had repeatedly accused Russia and President Vladimir Putin of getting involved in the Ukraine. Sanctions were imposed against Russia, prompting an economic crisis as oil prices and the rouble decline. ITAR reported that Moscow had dismissed the allegations and denounced the sanctions. In an annual news conference last December, Mr Putin had denied accusations that the Russians joining the combat operations in the Ukraine conflict were mercenaries but only volunteers.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 4,700 people were killed as a result of the bloody encounters between Ukrainian troops and separatist rebels in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. About 10,300 people were wounded from the ensuing battles during Ukraine's military operation to seize control of the rebel-held territories.

Meanwhile, with NATO and the U.S. planning to create a ultra-rapid-reaction force to deter Russia's military advances in Europe, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev said the expansion will only destroy the European security order. He told German newspaper Der Spiegel that the Ukraine crisis may easily result in a nuclear war.

Gorbachev said NATO expansion in eastern Europe is drawing away from the Paris Charter of 1990 which was originally created with the agreement of the European states to "leave the Cold War in the past." The first and only president of the Soviet has expressed fears that the world will not survive the coming years if one of the parties involved in the rising tensions in Europe will lose a nerve and cause a nuclear catastrophe, RT News reported.

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