The situation between the USA and Russia is tense because of the Ukraine crisis. Now US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have spoken to each other on the phone.
Amidst the tense situation in the Ukraine conflict, diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis at the highest level continue. US President Joe Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. The conversation lasted about an hour, the White House said afterwards in Washington. According to information from US government circles, the phone call did not bring any “fundamental change”. Saturday’s exchange was “professional and rich in content,” said an official who asked to remain anonymous. “There have been no fundamental changes in the dynamics that we have been observing for several weeks now.”
The US side had put ideas on the table with a view to security in Europe, which would also address some of Russia’s concerns. It’s unclear whether Russia is interested in achieving its goal through diplomacy rather than force, a senior US official said, but stressed, “There’s too much at stake here not to give Russia every chance to avoid what we believe would be disastrous.” The two presidents have agreed that their teams should keep in touch in the coming days, the US administration official said.
Kremlin: No pressure on Kiev
In the phone call, Biden urgently warned his counterpart against an invasion of Ukraine. The White House said Saturday after the call that Biden had said an invasion would “cause great human suffering and tarnish Russia’s reputation.” The result would be a resolute response from the United States and its allies, with dire consequences for Moscow. Biden once again made it clear that the US was still ready for diplomatic talks, but “also prepared for other scenarios”.
According to the Kremlin, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin complained about the lack of pressure from the West on Ukraine. “He (Putin) has remarked that Western countries are not exerting the appropriate pressure to ensure that Kiev fulfills its obligations,” Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Saturday evening, according to the TASS state agency. Ushakov said the US warnings of a possible impending attack by Russia on neighboring Ukraine are “hysteria”. Nevertheless, the conversation was “fairly balanced and factual”.
Biden presented “a number of considerations” that, from a US perspective, took into account Russian concerns about security in Europe, Ushakov said. Putin has promised to examine these statements. At the same time, it has already become clear that key Russian demands are not being met.
Russia accuses the US of “provocative speculation”.
Earlier, the Kremlin dismissed US warnings about a possible impending Russian attack on Ukraine as speculation. In a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin “raised the situation in connection with provocative speculation about an allegedly planned Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine,” according to a statement published on Saturday.
The Kremlin also criticized the fact that the West was arming Ukraine with modern weapons and ammunition. This could encourage the Ukrainian leadership to launch a military offensive against eastern Ukraine. There, separatists supported by Russia are warning of an attack by Ukraine.
Fear of Russian invasion of Ukraine
According to Élysée circles, French head of state Emmanuel Macron also phoned Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Saturday afternoon, after Macron had previously also spoken to Putin. The French head of state then wanted to speak to both Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the conflict that evening.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also held separate calls on Saturday with their respective counterparts in Russia.
Concerns about a Russian invasion of Ukraine are growing in the US and Europe. Several countries – including Germany – called on their citizens to leave Ukraine on Saturday. The US government is warning of a possible Russian invasion of the neighboring country before the end of next week. Russia denies this and for its part accuses the USA of increasing the risk of war itself by warning of Russian aggression.
Note: This article has been updated.
Source: Stern
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