April 27, 2024

Ukraine's phone diplomacy - Biden threatens sanctions - Putin warns of 'big mistake'

Ukraine’s phone diplomacy – Biden threatens sanctions – Putin warns of ‘big mistake’

  • US President Joe Biden has threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with sanctions if Russia allows an escalation of the situation on the border with Ukraine.
  • Biden said this to his Russian counterpart in a telephone conversation, news agencies reported, citing the Kremlin and the White House.
  • The United States and its allies will not tolerate an invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, Putin said that sanctions against Russia would be a big mistake.

Biden urged Putin to ease tensions with the goal of sending Russian troops closer to the Ukrainian border. This was announced by the White House Thursday evening (local time) after the two presidents phoned for about an hour.

A “serious and substantive” conversation

A senior White House representative said that in the event of further military intervention in Ukraine, the United States and its allies would be ready to impose harsh economic sanctions on Moscow. In such a situation, NATO’s presence in its eastern member states will also be expanded. Ukraine can then count on additional aid, as well as the armed forces of national defense.

Biden’s talks with Putin were, among other things, about preparing for a meeting of representatives from both countries in Geneva, scheduled for January 10. The US official said that the United States hopes that Moscow will follow the path of de-escalation. The tone of the conversation with Putin was “serious and substantial”.

Russia wants to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO

The United States has accused Russia of deploying large numbers of troops in areas on the border with Ukraine for weeks. He feared that Russian forces could invade the former Soviet Republic. Russia rejects the alleged plans to invade and in turn accuses Ukraine of deploying additional soldiers in the region.

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According to the White House, Russia has previously made it clear that it wants a written promise that Ukraine will never join NATO and that the alliance’s military equipment will not be stationed in the former Soviet Union. These are demands that the Biden government does not want to comply with.