Wed 08 December 2021:
“Greetings, Mr President,” Putin remarked in a brief video clip published by the Kremlin from the two leaders’ virtual encounter on Tuesday, which lasted slightly over two hours, according to the White House.
Biden said it was “good to see” the Russian president, adding that he hoped their next session would be in person.
As the two leaders held direct conversations amid weeks of escalating tensions over Russia’s military buildup along the Ukrainian border, US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin against any “military escalation” with Ukraine.
Biden “voiced the deep concern” of the US and its European allies “about Russia’s escalation of forces encircling Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement following the talk, adding that they “would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation.”
“President Biden reiterated his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy. The two presidents tasked their teams to follow up, and the U.S. will do so in close coordination with allies and partners,” the statement said.
For his part, Putin on Tuesday presented the US president with a demand for legally binding security guarantees that would rule out the expansion of NATO, the Kremlin said after the call.
Putin said NATO was bolstering its military potential near Russia’s borders and “making dangerous attempts to conquer Ukrainian territory”, the Kremlin said in a statement. “Therefore, Russia is seriously interested in obtaining reliable, legally fixed guarantees that rule out NATO expansion eastward and the deployment of offensive strike weapons systems in states adjacent to Russia.”
On Tuesday, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said the Biden-Putin call had not produced “sensations” – but expressed gratitude to the US president for his “unwavering support”.
“We support President Biden’s call on the Russian leader to return to diplomatic instruments and ensure de-escalation in our region. We will continue to coordinate with the American side to achieve concrete results in the interests of Ukraine,” Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and separatists backed by Russia seized a swath of land in eastern Ukraine, igniting a simmering conflict.
Ukraine has reported that 94,000 Russian troops have massed along the border, the second such buildup this year, sparking a flurry of warnings from top Biden administration officials aimed at deterring Moscow from making “significant aggressive moves” against Kyiv.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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