‘Serious’ talk between Joe Biden, Putin sets stage for diplomacy
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged warnings about Ukraine on Thursday but were optimistic that diplomatic talks in January could ease rising tensions.
In a 50-minute call, their second conversation this month, Biden said he had to see Russia downsize its military near Ukraine, while Putin said sanctions threatened by Washington and its allies could lead to a break in relations.
“President Joe Biden reiterated that substantial progress in these dialogues can only be achieved in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said the call created “a good background” for future talks.
The exchanges of heads of state and government laid the groundwork for lower-level engagement between countries, including a security meeting between the United States and Russia in January 9-10, followed by a Russia-NATO meeting on January 12 and a wider conference that will be attended by Moscow, Washington and other European countries, scheduled for January 13th.
Despite talks about diplomacy, officials on both sides described the tone of the call as “serious”.
And none of the countries detailed any significant progress towards a solution or the outline of an agreement.
In Kiev, leaders worry about the 60,000 to 90,000 Russian soldiers who have gathered in the north, east and south.
Washington wasn’t convinced by a report over the weekend that Russia would withdraw about 10,000 soldiers, and officials said they saw little evidence of a reduction.
Airspace for the first time earlier this week, although various types of surveillance aircraft are common in the area.
For his part, Biden reiterated his threat of unprecedented sanctions if Russia chooses to invade Ukraine.
“Joe Biden has taken two avenues,” including diplomacy and deterrence, including “serious costs and consequences,” said a senior civil servant.
“Both leaders admitted that there are likely areas where we could make significant progress and areas where agreement may not be possible, and that upcoming talks would define the outline of each of these categories. Ushakov said Putin “reacted immediately” that any sanction now or later “could lead to a complete severing of ties between our countries”.
Moscow’s troop deployments over the past two months alarmed the West after the Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula was captured in 2014 and separatists supported troops on its own soil as it chooses.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged warnings about Ukraine on Thursday but were optimistic that diplomatic talks in January could ease rising tensions. In a 50-minute call, their second conversation this month, Biden said he had to see Russia downsize its military near Ukraine, while Putin…
Recent Posts
- Blue Origin successfully sends tourists to the edge of space again after a long hiatus
- Don’t wait for Memorial Day: LG’s C3 OLED TV just crashed to a record-low price
- Indie developers are trying to make horse games that don’t suck. It’s not easy
- The 18 Best PlayStation Plus Games (May 2024)
- The smells and tastes of a great video game
Archives
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- December 2011