US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the US may impose new sanctions against Ukraine if Russia takes further military action, to which Putin said the US Any such move can completely end the relationship between the two countries.
The two leaders spoke openly for about an hour on the increasing interference of the Russian army near Ukraine.
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Shakov said imposing additional US sanctions would be “a huge mistake with dire consequences”.
Shakov gave this information to journalists in Moscow about the phone conversation between Biden and Putin. He said Putin told Biden that Russia would act like the US if offensive weapons were deployed near US borders.
At the same time, White House officials did not give any open information on the phone conversation. He said the leaders agreed that there are many areas where both sides can make meaningful progress, but there are also differences that may be impossible to resolve.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Baden had “urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine” and “made it clear that the US, its allies and allies will respond decisively if Russia invades Ukraine.”
The talks are taking place ahead of talks between senior US and Russian officials in Geneva on January 9 and 10, where the two leaders also spoke over a video call on December 7. After the Geneva talks, the Russia-NATO Council will meet on 12 January and the Security and Cooperation Organization talks in Vienna on 13 January.
