President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. They discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty according to the White House press statement.
The U.S. President expressed concern about the transfer of Russian forces to the border with Ukraine and called on the Kremlin to reduce tensions with Kyiv.
“President Biden emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions,” the statement read.
During the conversation, Biden made it clear that the U.S. would act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference. In addition, he invited Putin to meet in a third country to discuss all the problems facing the United States and Russia.
“President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia,” the statement concluded.
In turn, the Kremlin said that during the exchange of views on the internal Ukrainian crisis, Vladimir Putin outlined approaches to a political settlement based on the Minsk Package of Measures. The Kremlin also noted that the presidents expressed their "willingness to continue the dialogue on the critical areas of ensuring global security, which would meet the interests not only of Russia and the United States, but the entire international community.”
"Joseph Biden expressed interest in normalizing the state of affairs on the bilateral track and establishing stable and predictable interaction on pressing matters such as ensuring strategic stability and arms control, Iran’s nuclear program, the situation in Afghanistan, and global climate change," the Kremlin said.