President Putin pointed out to his colleague Biden about the severance of relations between the Russian Federation and the United States in the event of new sanctions
Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters
Aide to the Russian president, Yuri Ushakov, said that Vladimir Putin, during a telephone conversation with his American counterpart Joe Biden, allowed a break in relations between the countries on one condition, TASS reports.
Putin pointed out to his colleague Biden that relations between Russia and the United States would break off if new, “unprecedented sanctions” were introduced. According to Ushakov, the American leader recalled that if the escalation on the Ukrainian border continues, Western countries will develop “large-scale sanctions”, including measures in the economic and military spheres.
“But our president immediately reacted to this by saying that if the West nevertheless decides to introduce these unprecedented sanctions under certain conditions, then all this could lead to a complete rupture of relations between our countries. And serious damage will be done to Russia's relations with the West in general, ”said Putin's aide.
Ushakov added that Putin gave Biden a “key message” about US security guarantees. For Moscow, in negotiations on this topic, it is not a compromise that is important, but the result in the form of ensuring security guarantees, which it urgently needs. Biden agreed with this thesis and considered it logical.
Negotiations between Putin and Biden began at 15:35 Washington time (23:35 Moscow time) on December 30 and lasted 50 minutes. The dialogue was meaningful and serious, the Washington administration noted.
