The fact that the telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Joseph Biden would be held entirely in a closed format was known even before it began. The presidents got in touch late in the evening, half an hour before midnight Moscow time. In the United States, the hands on the clock indicated half past four in the evening. The conversation lasted exactly 50 minutes. Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters about some of the results of the talks.
"In principle, we are satisfied with the talks held today, because they were frank, meaningful, and specific,"he said.
Russia has spoken about its concerns more than once. But in the West they pretended not to hear. The case got off the ground during previous talks between Putin and Biden, via video link, December 7. The presidents agreed on consultations on strategic stability.
Russia's red lines are listed in two documents: one concerns relations with the United States, the other with NATO. Our country offers the alliance to stop any military activity on the territory of 12 former Soviet republics (the Baltic countries do not count - they are already in NATO), to cancel the decision of the Bucharest summit in the part where it was announced about the prospects of joining the bloc of Ukraine and Georgia, and remove American strike systems, including missile defense systems, from our borders. Agreements must be legally enshrined. Moscow does not believe in words.
"We need a result. And we will seek results in the form of guaranteed security for Russia. In principle, US President agreed with this point of view and reacted quite logically and quite seriously. Our President emphasized that in this situation, which is rather difficult, we will behave as the United States would behave if offensive weapons were deployed near American borders," Ushakov said.
In Washington, the conversation between Putin and Biden was described as businesslike and meaningful. True, in the official statement, the White House press service, as usual, focused on Russia's allegedly impending invasion of Ukraine.
"President Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine," the statement said. "He made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine. President Biden also expressed support for diplomatic efforts, which kick off early next year with a bilateral dialogue on strategic stability," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Thursday.
Not without mentioning by Biden of possible large-scale sanctions against our country.
"Our president immediately responded to that by saying that if the West goes ahead to introduce abovementioned unprecedented sanctions, then all that could cause a total severance of relations between our countries and most serious damage will be done to Russia’s relations with the West in general," Ushakov noted.
According to political scientists, the position of the American president is influenced by the internal political situation in the United States.
“Biden has a very low rating, and now to be accused of weakness towards Russia, which is a traditional horror story for American domestic politics, for him it would be a failure,” said Andrei Korobkov, professor of political science at the University of Tennessee.
During the night conversation, the presidents agreed to keep in touch.
“Washington understands Russia's concerns. President Biden is ready to continue the dialogue with President Putin, and this is what our leaders agreed on. Moreover, the presidents will also push the negotiations, which will be conducted by our subordinate teams in Geneva, ”Yuri Ushakov replied.
Negotiations between Russia and the United States on security guarantees are scheduled in Geneva for January 10. In a couple of days, a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council will take place in Brussels, and on January 13, the Russian delegation in Vienna will meet with representatives of the OSCE.
However, in relation to the same Ukraine, some progress has already been outlined.
Some political analysts already call the upcoming talks epoch-making, while others are still restrained in their assessments. The White House is cautiously hinting to reporters about possible progress on some issues.
Some political analysts already call the upcoming talks epoch-making, while others are still restrained in their assessments. The White House is cautiously hinting to reporters about possible progress on some issues. But without any specifics. At the same time, recognizing that nothing relieves tension in the world like communication between the leaders of our countries. With this, as they say, you can not argue.
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