Vladimir Putin has warned Joe Biden that new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine would be a big mistake
The President of Russia – Vladimir Putin has warned the President of United States (U.S.) – Joe Biden that any new sanctions over Ukraine would be a big mistake and could lead to complete breakdown of ties between Russia and U.S.
The remarks came during the 50 minutes phone call on Thursday, December 30, 2021. This is the second call between the two leaders in this month. Prior to this, Biden and Putin had spoken via videoconferencing on December 7, 2021.
Meanwhile, Biden told Putin that U.S. and its allies will not fear from responding decisively if Russia invades Ukraine. Putin once again reiterated that Russia will not invade Ukraine. Putin said that the presence of Russian troops at the Ukraine border is a defensive act in response to deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. He also said that Russia is free to move its troops freely anywhere on its own soil.
The conversation focused on the implementation of the agreement to launch negotiations on providing Russia with legally binding security guarantees, reached during the December 7, 2021, videoconference. Putin detailed the fundamental approaches underlying the Russian drafts of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the USA and the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the member states of the NATO
Although the two sides exchanged warnings during the call, Russian Foreign Policy Adviser – Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin was pleased with the conversation. He added that it had created a good backdrop for future talks.
Speaking on the occasion, the Press Secretary of White House – Jen Psaki said, “President Biden reiterated that substantive progress in these dialogues can occur only in an environment of de-escalation.”
She further said, “He made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.”
Putin told Biden he was convinced the pair could work together based on mutual respect and consideration of each other’s national interests.
The Spokesperson for Putin – Dmitry Peskov said, “We believe that only through talks is it possible to solve all the immediate problems that we have in abundance between us.”
Earlier this month, Russia had published a Draft Security Pact for easing tensions with the West. It wants NATO to withdraw all its troops and weapons from Ukraine. The Russian proposal also says there must be a ban on sending U.S. and Russian warships and aircraft to areas from where they can attack each other’s territory as well as a halt to NATO military drills near Russia’s borders. Russia’s draft also envisages a pledge not to station intermediate-range missiles in areas where they can strike the other party’s territory.
Russia also wants that Ukraine should not be given the membership of NATO. However, NATO has rejected this demand of Russia saying that NATO’s relationship with Ukraine is going to be decided by the 30 NATO allies and Ukraine and no one else. U.S. has also said that the decision will be taken jointly in collaboration with all the NATO Members and Ukraine.
