Ushakov: Biden informed Putin about “large-scale sanctions” during the escalation in Ukraine and American leader Joe Biden. This was told by the assistant to the head of Russia Yuri Ushakov, reports RIA Novosti.
According to him, one of the main topics of the meeting was the situation in Ukraine. So, Ushakov said that it took a lot of time in the conversation between the heads of state. He also stressed that the American leader noted his concern about the movements of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders and informed Putin about “large-scale sanctions” in the event of an escalation. The Russian President also spoke about NATO's eastward movement. In addition to this, Putin drew Biden's attention to the actions taken by the Ukrainian authorities regarding the Russian language in the country. As a result, the parties agreed to continue contacts on the situation in Ukraine.
At the same time, Ushakov noted that the issue of sending Russian troops to Ukraine was not even raised during the negotiations.
This was not even discussed. How to send troops to Ukraine? What is it? Intrusion or what is it? There was no question at all
Yuri UshakovAssistant to the President of Russia
In addition to Ukraine, the leaders of the two countries also discussed the topic of the victims of Russia and the United States in World War II, said the aide to the Russian president. This issue was raised by Biden himself and spoke about it soulfully, he added. The parties also expressed mutual satisfaction with cooperation in the fight against cybercrime and talked about the functioning of diplomatic missions. However, the heads of state did not touch on topics such as the pandemic, climate and energy, including the situation with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The consequences of the escalation
According to a White House statement, Biden warned Putin during the conversation that the United States would impose “big sanctions” against Russia in the event of an escalation in Ukraine. In addition, Washington intends to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO in such a development of events and is ready to respond positively to requests for military assistance from the Baltic States, Romania and Poland. In addition, the United States is considering the option of completely isolating Russia from the global financial system with consequences for the population and business, and also counts on stopping Nord Stream 2.
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At the same time, the adviser to the President of the United States on national security, Jake Sullivan, said that the States still do not believe that Russia has decided to attack Ukraine.
In response to threats of sanctions, Putin noted that restrictive measures have no positive effect, including for the United States itself. “Biden talked about possible sanctions, and our president talked about what the Russian side needs, that sanctions are not new, they have been adopted for a long time, but unfortunately they do not give any positive effect either for the United States or for Russia,” – said Ushakov. He also clarified that Biden, warning of new sanctions, spoke of the threat to the Russian “economy, finance and politics.” According to him, the last feature for Moscow is the further advance of NATO to the east and the deployment of offensive weapons in Ukraine.
Straight Talk
Following the meeting, Biden welcomed the opportunity to communicate clearly and directly with Vladimir Putin, Sullivan said. According to him, the discussion between the heads of state was direct and frank.
The assistant to the head of Russia, in turn, said that the negotiations between the Russian president and the American leader were of a business nature. At the same time, he noted that in the conversation there was a place for jokes and exchange of compliments between the presidents.
According to him, Biden softened his rhetoric on possible sanctions against Russia during his conversation with Putin. Ushakov noted that during the conversation, the US President mentioned restrictive measures in a more acceptable form than had been done earlier in various public statements.
The meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States took place on December 7, it lasted two hours and took place via a special video link. The Kremlin said that this line was created during the previous administrations, but today it is being used for the first time. The first footage of the politicians' communication was shown to the journalists, but then the meeting was held in a closed format. The presidents' current contact is the fifth since Biden took office.