Telephone exchange between Biden and Putin: interview with very high stake

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin began a very high-stakes interview on Thursday, which they concluded about fifty minutes later. This exchange was intended to make the diplomatic channel prevail to get out of the crisis generated by the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“President Biden’s appeal to President Putin began at 3:35 p.m. (8:35 p.m. GMT) and ended at 4:25 p.m. (9:25 p.m. GMT, Editor’s note),” announced a House official. White.

On the American side, Joe Biden took part in it from Wilmington, his stronghold in Delaware, where he spends the end of year celebrations. The White House released a photo of the US leader, phone in hand, in a room with wood-paneled walls. Its ambition is, according to the American executive, to propose a “diplomatic path” to avoid a military escalation in Ukraine.

A few hours before the call, the second in less than a month, Vladimir Putin, for his part, said he was “convinced” that an “effective” dialogue “based on mutual respect” was possible, recalling the summit in June in Geneva having brought together the two men. During their meeting, Joe Biden was to stress, however, that the United States remains “deeply concerned” about the presence of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine and that they will be “prepared to respond” in the event of an emergency. military offensive, according to a White House official.

Moscow, in the run-up to Russian-American talks on January 10 in Geneva, keeps repeating that the top priority is the negotiation of two treaties redefining the security balance and architecture of Europe.

For the Kremlin, Russia’s security requires the prohibition of any NATO expansion and the end of Western military activities near Russian borders, an area that Moscow considers to be within its area of ​​influence.