Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the request of the White House, spoke on the phone with his American counterpart Joe Biden about the Ukrainian crisis. They discussed Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine, which Moscow is allegedly preparing. Biden warned that if Russia chooses this way, it will lose its credibility. Putin and Biden spoke over a secure connection for more than an hour, the conversation ended at 20:06 Moscow time, the American side indicated. The Kremlin has previously specified that Putin and Biden contacted at the request of the American side. The American side has requested a telephone conversation with Putin, citing the possibility of a Russian "invasion" of Ukraine, Russian leader aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Friday.
The White House said that the conversation was about the military presence of Russia near the Ukrainian borders.
"President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would cause widespread human suffering and weaken Russia's authority," the White House stressed.
The American president told Putin that if Russia tries to attack Ukraine, the US and allies will respond decisively and make sure that Russia suffers "quick and severe costs."
“President Biden has made it clear to President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy in full coordination with our allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House concluded.
A senior US administration official at a special briefing for journalists called the conversation between Putin and Biden "professional and meaningful." According to him, "there were no fundamental changes in the dynamics that have taken place in the last few weeks."
“The presidents agreed that our teams will continue to interact in the coming days,” the official said.
He noted that Washington does not yet know for sure whether Russia is actually ready to attack Ukraine.
“Russia can still decide to act further [against Ukraine] with the use of military force. This is a very real possibility. It remains unclear whether Russia wants to achieve its goals through diplomacy or force,” the official said.
Russian presidential aide Ushakov said that Biden, in a conversation with Putin, mentioned possible tough sanctions against Russia, but did not emphasize this. Putin, in his words, "described in detail the approaches of the Russian side, explained why it is now that the need has arisen to resolve issues on which Russia's national security really depends."
“The conversation lasted just over an hour…Today's conversation took place in an atmosphere of unprecedented hysteria by US officials about Russia's supposedly imminent invasion of Ukraine. Everyone knows this, ”said Ushakov.
He added that Russia would considerations that Biden voiced in a conversation with Putin.
Ushakov also noted that the presidents did not touch upon the incident with the American nuclear submarine, which was spotted by the Russian military in Russian territorial waters in the Kuril region on the evening of February 12. According to the Ministry of Defense, the submarine was supposed to spy on Russian exercises, but it was revealed before the Americans knew anything. As a result, the Russian military forced the submarine to sail away.
On February 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also spoke by telephone. Lavrov warned Blinken that Western propaganda about an impending Russian attack could be bad for the Ukraine crisis. An imaginary threat is capable of provoking Kiev to try to return the Donbass by force.
“Minister [Lavrov in a conversation with Blinken] stressed that the propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies about “Russian aggression” against Ukraine pursues provocative goals, encouraging the authorities in Kiev to sabotage the Minsk agreements and harmful attempts to resolve the “Donbass problem” by force,” he said. Russian Foreign Ministry.
Blinken, for his part, warned that if Russia "takes the path of aggression and continues to invade Ukraine," it will receive a "strong and massive" response from the West. He added that Washington is ready to resolve the crisis through diplomacy.
bbabo.Net