On Sunday, Joe Biden, the President of the United States, will speak with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, some days after Biden insisted Russian leader Vladimir Putin ease the ongoing crisis on the Russian-Ukrainian border. a White House official said that the U.S. president plans to talk on a phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Sunday to reiterate American support for territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty.
US President Biden to talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, as Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease the ongoing military crisis at Ukraine’s border.https://t.co/BtarZlPFLp pic.twitter.com/nJTLrYziS7
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Both leaders will also discuss the Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border and review preparations for future ambassadorial relations to help deescalate the stressful situation in the region. The phone call comes some days before American and Russian officials set to meet in person on 10th January in Geneva amid the military build-up of Russia on the Ukrainian border and current tensions.
On Friday, the president said that he clarified in conversation with the Russian president that there would be severe consequences if Russia attacked Ukraine. After a New Year’s Eve lunch in Wilmington, Delaware, the U.S. said that he made it clear to his Russian counterpart that if he makes more aggressive moves towards Ukraine, the U.S. will impose severe economic sanctions. In addition, the U.S. will increase its presence in Europe with its NATO partners, and it will just be a heavy price to pay for it.
Russian President Agreed for Three Upcoming Conferences in Europe
According to Biden, Putin agreed to officially attend three upcoming summits in Europe, including American-Russian diplomatic dialogs led by United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on 10th January in Geneva and NATO-Russian negotiations on 12th January. Biden added that when he realized that Putin is willing to represent his country in three major meetings in Europe starting the middle of the month with U.S. senior staff members that relate to the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe, the NATO-Russia council along with the continuation of talks on the strategic doctrine.
The American president said that both countries laid out their related concerns, but he clarified that it only could work if Putin deescalated the aggression. During his Thursday call with the Russian president, Biden insisted Putin initiate some influential moves to ease the ongoing crisis on the Russian border with Ukraine, threatening him again of dire sanctions should the Russian leader proceed with an attack. In response, Putin told the U.S. President that slapping a new round of economic sanctions against the country would amount to a colossal mistake that could lead to a complete collapse of ties between the two countries, such as Russia and the United States.
Source: Web
Russian and United States officials said that the fifty-minute-long telephonic call didn’t yield any significant breakthroughs but did establish the environment for the January in-person diplomatic dialogs. Furthermore, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke Friday with Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary-General of NATO, about the upcoming meeting with Russia in the NATO – the United States and Russia Council – Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue, according to Ned Price, the spokesman of State Department.
Biden Laid Out Two Paths for Russia
According to officials, during his phone call with the U.S. President, Putin offered slight hints to his future intentions. On the other hand, Biden specified only two paths for Putin as he continues to deploy Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine:
- A diplomatic route toward de-escalation
- The other focused on deterrence using economic consequences, enhanced American troop presence on the eastern flank of NATO, with increased support to Ukraine
The official added that it depends on Russian actions to select the path. But there will be severe consequences and costs should Russia go ahead with its regional invasion. Biden also told the Russian President that he has no plan to deploy offensive weapons in Ukraine. In response, Putin noted that one of the significant points included the security guarantees draft that Russia is seeking.
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