US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked tonight (Thursday-Friday) for about 50 minutes about tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The following may help ease the tension.
It was Putin who initiated the 50-minute phone call, the second call the two made in a month. Despite the optimism about the success of the diplomatic efforts, the tone of the phone call was described by officials on both sides as “serious”. During the conversation Biden said he was interested in seeing Russia reduce its military preparations on the Ukrainian border and reiterated a threat of unprecedented sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine, while Putin threatened to sever ties with Washington if it continued to threaten Moscow with sanctions.
“President Biden has reiterated that significant progress in these dialogues can only occur in an environment of calm and not escalation,” White House spokeswoman Jen Pasky said. She added at the end of the conversation that Biden had urged Russia to reduce tensions with Ukraine, and clarified that “the US and its allies will respond resolutely if Russia expands its invasion of Ukraine.”
On the other hand, Kremlin official Yuri Ushkov said the conversation provided a “good basis” for future talks, but noted that Putin “responded immediately” that any sanctions, at one point or another, “could lead to a complete collapse of relations between the two countries.” He said, “The president has indicated that this would be a mistake that our descendants would see as a huge mistake.”
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The background to the talks and tensions between the countries is the US intelligence assessment that Russia is planning an extensive attack against Ukraine in early 2022. According to estimates, based on satellite images from the region, the attack will include tens of thousands of troops Russia has bordered in Ukraine in recent weeks. The Ukraine and says that it has the right to move its troops on its land as it wishes.
“Biden has opened two courses of action,” a senior U.S. administration official said. “One of them is diplomatic and the other is more focused on deterrence, and includes prices and serious consequences if Russia chooses to continue its invasion of Ukraine,” the senior official added. Among the options being considered in the White House are measures that will effectively cut Russia off from the global economic and financial system, while further armizing NATO.
Moscow, which is concerned about Ukraine’s re-armament by the West, has previously said it is interested in binding legal guarantees that NATO will not expand further east, and that certain offensive weapons will not be entrusted to Ukraine or other neighboring countries. That Moscow needs some security guarantees from the West and also that, according to him, the United States does not intend to deploy offensive weapons in Ukraine.
Putin likened the current tension to the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Cold War in 1962. The U.S. treats many of its demands, including restrictions on NATO expansion, as demands that do not even form an initial basis for negotiations.
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