Joe Biden & Vladimir Putin trade warnings over Ukraine conflict in 50-minute phone call

During a 50-minute phone call, United States President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin traded warnings over the Ukraine situation. US President Biden spoke to Russia to lower tensions regarding Ukraine. He made it plain that US and its allies and partners will respond forcefully if Russia invades Ukraine again.

President Biden also reaffirmed his support for dialogue, which will begin early next year with the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue, as well as at NATO through the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Moreover, he emphasised that substantial progress in these discussions can only be made in a de-escalation rather than escalation-oriented climate.

Over the last two months, Russia has gathered tens of thousands of troops near its Ukrainian border, alarming the US and its allies. This comes after its 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and support for insurgents in eastern Ukraine. The leaders' meeting on Thursday, requested by Putin, was their second this month, but according to the White House, it consisted of both men restating their stances, with Biden warning of dire consequences if Putin decided to invade.

Biden laid out "two paths," for Russia

Biden had laid out "two paths," one of diplomacy and deescalation, and the other of deterrence "including serious costs and consequences" such as economic sanctions, strengthening Nato's force posture, and military assistance to Ukraine, according to a senior administration official on a conference call with reporters, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, according to NPR, the Kremlin claimed that Putin used the phone call to make a threat of his own, telling Biden that further penalties would be a huge mistake and might completely sever ties between Russia and the United States. The call came ahead of a US-Russia security summit in Geneva on the 9th and 10th of January, which will be followed by a Russia-NATO session on the 12th, and a broader conference on the 13th of January that will include Russia, US, and other European countries.

A White House official described the talk as "serious and substantive" during a media conference call, but said it was more about setting the tone and attitude for future diplomatic contacts than breaking new ground. Putin, who spoke with Biden via video chat on December 7, compared the present situation to the cold-war-era Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

Putin denies any intention of attacking Ukraine and maintains that Russia has the right to move its soldiers on its own territory, BBC reported. Moscow has demanded legally binding assurances that NATO would not expand farther east and that offensive weapons will not be placed in Ukraine or any neighbouring countries. Some of the demands are deemed non-starters by Washington.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image:AP