Biden threatens Putin against him if he invades Ukraine
Phone call
Biden threatens Putin against him if he invades Ukraine
The reserves between Moscow and Washington are running hot because of the conflict in Ukraine. Biden and Putin have their second meeting within a month. Its top diplomats are due to negotiate in January.
Washington / Moscow. US President Joe Biden has again threatened Russia with strict and countermeasures in the event of a unified invasion of Ukraine.
In a phone call, he called on President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate the Russian troops near the Ukrainian border, as the White House announced on Thursday evening. Tensions need to be reduced and a return to diplomacy, Biden said in the less than hour-long conversation. The Kremlin warned the US against imposing against it.
Threats and demands
“If the West decides to impose this unprecedented one way or another, it could lead to a complete break in relations between our countries,” Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said after the phone call, according to Interfax. If offensive weapons are stationed on its border, Russia will behave in the same way, said Ushakov accordingly.
The telephone conversation between the two presidents served, among other things, in preparation for a meeting of representatives from both countries in Geneva, scheduled for January 9th and 10th. The western defense alliance of the NATO facility also had a meeting with the Russian side for January 12th. There will also be a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on January 13th.
Fear of escalation
For weeks, the US has been accusing Russia of a massive deployment of troops in areas on the border with Ukraine. It is feared that Russian troops could invade the ex-Soviet republic. Russia rejects alleged plans for an invasion and, in turn, accuses Ukraine of having deployed additional soldiers in the region. In 2014 Russia annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and began to support Kremlin-loyal separatists in eastern Ukraine.
A senior White House representative said diplomacy is the best way to face the “very serious situation” facing Ukraine. If Moscow does not rely on de-escalation, the US and its allies are ready to impose tough economic sanctions on Moscow. In addition, in such a case would die. NATO’s presence in its eastern member states is expanded. Ukraine could then count on additional aid, including for the armed forces. The tone of the conversation Biden with Putin was “serious and substantial,” said the government official.
Putin hints at concessions
Putin, who had previously made demands for binding security guarantees from NATO, seemed willing to continue to demand concessions. “Of course we will take the US side and our partners in the western countries into account in the negotiations,” said Ushakov, according to Interfax. But Russia will insist on guarantees for its own security.
Two weeks ago, Russia handed over a draft agreement to NATO, the United States as the most powerful ally, and its allies. This calls for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion, which Russia sees itself threatened by.
Biden and Putin last spoke at the beginning of December as part of a two-hour video link. As heads of state, the two first met in person in Geneva in June.
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