Biden threatens Putin with tough sanctions if he invades Ukraine

Biden threatens Putin with tough sanctions if he invades Ukraine

In a phone call, he called on President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate, as the White House announced on Thursday evening. Tensions need to be reduced and a return to diplomacy, Biden said in the less than hour-long conversation. The Kremlin, in turn, warned the US against imposing sanctions.

“If the West decides to impose these unprecedented sanctions in one way or another, this could lead to a complete break in relations between our countries,” Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said after the phone call, according to the Interfax agency. If offensive weapons are stationed on its border, Russia will behave in the same way, Ushakov said.

The telephone conversation between the two presidents served, among other things, in preparation for a meeting of representatives from both countries in Geneva, planned for January 9th and 10th. The western defense alliance NATO is also planning a meeting with the Russian side on January 12th. There will also be a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on January 13th.

For weeks, the US has been accusing Russia of a massive deployment of troops in areas on the border with Ukraine. It is feared that Russian troops could invade the ex-Soviet republic. Russia rejects alleged plans for an invasion and, in turn, accuses Ukraine of having deployed additional soldiers in the region. In 2014 Russia annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and began to support Kremlin-loyal separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“Serious and substantial” conversation

A senior White House official said diplomacy is the best way to face the “very serious situation” facing Ukraine. If Moscow does not rely on de-escalation, the US and its allies are ready to impose tough economic sanctions on Moscow. In such a case, NATO’s presence in its eastern member states would also be expanded. Ukraine could then count on additional aid, including for the armed forces. The tone of the conversation Biden with Putin was “serious and substantial,” said the government official.

Putin, on the other hand, who had previously made demands for binding security guarantees from NATO, seemed to indicate willingness to make possible concessions. “Of course we will take into account considerations of the US side and our partners in the western countries in the negotiations,” said Ushakov, according to Interfax. But Russia will insist on guarantees for its own security.

Last conversation in early December

Two weeks ago Russia presented a draft agreement to NATO, the US as the most powerful alliance and its allies. This calls for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion, which Russia sees itself threatened by.

Biden and Putin last spoke at the beginning of December as part of a two-hour video link. As heads of state, the two first met personally in Geneva in June.

Source: Nachrichten

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