The Biden-Putin talks come roughly two weeks before Americans and Russian diplomats are scheduled meet in Geneva to discuss the ongoing crisis. US officials also say Moscow is engaged in a massive disinformation campaign meant to undermine Ukraine’s government ahead of that country’s national elections.īiden conducted the call from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. Putin “noted that this is one of the key points included in the draft ,” Ushakov added.Īs many as 100,000 Russian troops have remained amassed at the Ukrainian border, despite warnings from Biden and European leaders of serious consequences should Putin move ahead with an invasion. Which path is chosen “will depend on Russia’s actions in the period ahead,” the official said, saying there would be “serious costs and consequences” should Russia proceed with its regional aggression.īiden also told Putin the US did not plan to deploy offensive weapons in Ukraine, Ushakov said. Instead, the two men held what a US official described as a “serious and substantive” discussion, during which Biden laid out two paths for Putin as he continues to amass Russian troops on the border with Ukraine: one a diplomatic route toward de-escalation and one focused on deterrence using economic sanctions, enhanced US troop presence on NATO’s eastern flank and increased assistance to Ukraine. Putin again offered little clues to his intentions on Thursday, officials said after the call had concluded. Biden and Putin had last spoken on December 7 in a videoconference that ended with a pledge to restart diplomatic discussions – but no indication Russia was preparing to de-escalate. Putin requested the telephone call this week, and Biden – who believes nothing can replace direct conversations between heads of state – was eager to oblige. “A lot of such mistakes have been made over the past 30 years,” Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said, “and it is advisable not to make such mistakes again.” He told Biden that introducing a new round of sanctions against Russia would amount to a “colossal mistake” that could lead to a complete breakdown of relations between the two countries. Putin responded to potential paths Biden outlined with a dire warning, a Kremlin aide said. The 50-minute phone call did not yield any major breakthroughs, US and Russian officials said afterward, but did establish the tenor for upcoming in-person diplomatic talks between the two sides. President Joe Biden urged his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday to take steps to ease an unremitting crisis on Russia’s border with Ukraine, warning again of dire economic consequences should Putin proceed with an invasion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |