by Jarrett Renshaw and Vladimir Soldatkin
WILMINGTON, Delaware / MOSCOW (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin warned each other on Thursday about Ukraine but showed some optimism that the planned diplomatic talks in January would help ease tensions.
The two leaders spoke for the second time this month on a call that lasted 50 minutes.
“President Biden has reaffirmed that progress can only be made if de-escalation is privileged,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said the meeting created a good “starting point” for future talks.
American and Russian representatives are due to take part in discussions on January 10 on the military activities of their respective countries and the situation in Ukraine, ahead of a January 12 meeting between Russia and NATO, and a conference bringing together Moscow, Washington and other European countries on January 13.
Although diplomacy was mentioned, the talks were described as “serious” by representatives of both countries. Neither party mentioned any significant progress.
Joe Biden has made it clear to Vladimir Putin that the United States and its allies will respond firmly if Russia decides to invade Ukraine further.
Advisers have indicated that certain measures envisaged could cut Russia off from the global economic and financial system, while further arming NATO.
Vladimir Putin has meanwhile warned Joe Biden that US sanctions against Russia could cause a complete breakdown of bilateral relations, said Yuri Ushakov.
“Our president also stressed that this would be a mistake that future generations would consider colossal,” he added.
By deploying tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border for two months, Russia has fueled the concerns of the Western powers and the tensions with them.
Russia, which annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and supports separatist fighters in Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, denies any plans for an offensive and asks NATO for security guarantees.
Moscow has set Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership as a “red line” and wants guarantees from the Alliance that it will not expand to the east or deploy weapons systems offensives in the region.
(With Andrea Shalal in Washington and the Moscow editorial staff; written by Trevor Hunnicutt; French version Camille Raynaud)