On Thursday, December 30, Joe Biden held a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin at the request of the Russian side.
The conversation between Biden and Putin began at 22:35 Kyiv time, 5 minutes later than planned. The call ended at 23:25, having lasted 50 minutes.
According to the Kremlin, the conversation focused on the implementation of the agreement to launch negotiations on providing Russia with legally binding security guarantees.
Biden said that the United States is not going to deploy strike offensive weapons in Ukraine.
“Joseph Biden emphasized that Russia and the US shared a special responsibility for ensuring stability in Europe and the whole world and that Washington had no intention of deploying offensive strike weapons in Ukraine,” the Kremlin reports.
In addition, the American president warned his Russian counterpart about new sanctions in case of an open military invasion of Ukraine, to which Putin gave an exhaustive response that this would be a grave error, de facto fraught with the danger of a complete breakdown in Russia-US relations.
At the same time, Biden has repeatedly stressed that nuclear war cannot be started and won.
The leaders of the two states agreed to continue the dialogue after the New Year. It was confirmed that the negotiations would take place first in Geneva on January 9–10 and then as part of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12. Negotiations are also to be held at the OSCE on January 13. The presidents agreed to personally supervise these negotiating tracks, especially bilateral, with a focus on reaching results quickly.
“Overall, the conversation took place in a frank and business-like atmosphere and it was certainly of benefit to both parties. The leaders agreed to continue regular contacts at the highest level,” the message reads.
According to the White House version, the tone of the conversation between the two presidents was serious and substantive. The presidents each framed their positions as they’ve done in previous calls and also as they have done publicly.
Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine. This was stated during a briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
According to her, Biden 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 diplomacy, starting early next year with the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue, at NATO through the NATO-Russia Council, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
President Biden reiterated that substantive progress in these dialogues can occur only in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation.