Putin warns Biden against major sanctions in Ukraine: Kremlin | Conflict Issues
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told US counterpart Joe Biden that any sanctions in Ukraine could be “grave”, a Kremlin spokesman said on Thursday, after the two leaders spoke on the phone ahead of next month’s ground talks.
The call, which U.S. officials said began at 3:35 pm (20:35 GMT) and lasted 50 minutes, came in the middle. Western weeks of anxiety in sending Russia to thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine.
Kremlin spokeswoman Yuri Ushakov said Russia was satisfied with the talks, which he said affected security. guarantees that Moscow wants from the West, but that any major sanctions against Russia would be a “grave mistake”.
“We hope this does not happen,” Ushakov told reporters after the call.
This was Putin and Biden’s second time he gave direct talks this month, as Russian troops continue to fear that Russia is preparing for an attack on its neighbor.
In a statement issued by the White House, Biden urged Putin to “intensify” the growing tensions and “ensure that the United States and its allies and allies respond positively to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.
The Kremlin has denied any wrongdoing in Ukraine, instead blaming Western countries for undermining security in the region over the growing NATO-Ukraine alliance with Ukraine.
Ahead of the discussion, both sides insisted that they were ready to listen. But with the talks that sparked groundbreaking, face-to-face talks in Geneva in January, there were few signs of greater acceptance at hand.
Biden expressed support for the upcoming talks during a phone call with Putin on Thursday, the White House said, adding that “significant improvements in the talks could only be made if they were to go downhill rather than intensify.”
Samuel Greene, director of the Russian Institute at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that the US and Russia “should be seen as working hard” in the midst of the conflict.
“This is an opportunity for Putin to take the lead, showing that the West is probably a bit shaky – if he can turn it around like this,” Greene said. “To the rulers of Biden …
News next month
Earlier this month, the Russian government sealed security agreements wants NATO to refuse to become a member of Ukraine and other former Soviet states and to resume military and military exports to central and eastern Europe.
But the US and NATO allies have said that only members of the alliance can choose when other countries join them, stressing that any security talks with Moscow should focus on NATO concerns and include Ukraine and other allies.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, he said This week for Russian ambassadors and military officials to take part in talks with the US next month on a series of security guarantees Moscow wants in Washington.
The talks in Geneva are set to take place on January 10, with representatives from Moscow and NATO expected to meet on January 12.
The Russian delegation will be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, and US diplomats and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
In the meantime, US Secretary of State Antony Blink He reiterated the “immovable support” of the US to Ukraine in a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, the State Department said.
The United Kingdom he warned Russia last week said that any entry into Ukraine “would be a serious mistake and a force to be reckoned with, including sanctions imposed by our allies to spend a lot of money on Russia’s interests and economy”.
Putin he said Russia is not looking at war with its neighbor, but wants to respond “quickly” to the US and its allies in its search for security guarantees.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine in 2014 and soon aided the rebels in the east of the country, sparking tensions between Moscow and the West until the collapse of the Cold War.
Ukraine’s industrialized conflict, the Donbas, has killed more than 14,000 people so far, according to Kyiv.
