Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden have agreed to hold more talks amid tensions over a Russian troop build-up near Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Sunday, and Putin would also like to meet in person.
The Kremlin said Putin and Biden agreed to hold more talks during a Dec. 7 video call that focused on East-West relations, which have sunk to their lowest level since the end of the Cold War and are currently tense. by the Russian troop build-up. up near Ukraine.
Biden used that video call to warn Putin that the West would impose “strong economic and other measures” on Russia if it invaded Ukraine, while Putin has demanded guarantees that NATO will not expand further east.
In a video released on state television, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had no particular cause for optimism after speaking with Biden over the ongoing and very serious disagreements between Russia and the US over the so-called “red lines” of Moscow, which he does. don’t want the West to cross.
Aside from further expanding NATO eastward, Russia has said it does not want certain offensive weapons to be deployed in neighboring countries, such as Ukraine.
Putin told Biden on Dec. 7 that Russian troops were on Russian soil and posed no threat to anyone, Peskov said.
“The current … tensions and the like are being created to further demonize Russia and brand it as a potential aggressor,” Peskov added.
However, he said the two leaders had agreed to hold another round of talks, perhaps via video link, a format the two presidents liked.
“(We will) definitely see each other, I really wish that would happen,” Putin told Biden, according to a short video released on state television channel Rossiya 1.
The Kremlin said it is too early to say when the two leaders can meet in person.
The video call between Biden and Putin calmed investors’ nerves and helped the ruble regain some ground after a sell-off sparked by a new wave of fears over new Western sanctions against Moscow.
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