Tuesday, December 7th, 2021
Video summit shorter than expected
Biden threatens Putin with sanctions
In the run-up to the conversation between Russian head of state Putin and US President Biden, the Kremlin declares: In view of the multitude of conflict issues, it could be a very long conversation. It should turn out differently – after two hours it’s over and a threat is issued.
In the Ukraine conflict, US President Joe Biden threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with severe economic sanctions. If the conflict escalated militarily, Russia would expose itself to “strong economic and other measures,” said Biden, according to the White House in Washington, at the previous video summit with Putin. In the conversation with Putin, Biden also expressed the “deep concern” of the US government and its allies about the Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine.
The two heads of state held their video summit, which, according to Russian news agencies, lasted around two hours, against the background of heightened tensions in the Ukraine conflict. Russia has gathered tens of thousands of soldiers on the border with its neighboring country, which is fueling fears in the West that the Russian army could invade Ukraine. Moscow rejects this and accuses Ukraine of provocations.
According to the White House, Biden and Putin also spoke about cybersecurity and the nuclear dispute with Iran. Following the video summit, Biden wanted to exchange ideas with his European allies, according to US information.
After the conversation, Biden will hold a conference call with the outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the White House announced.
Biden and the heads of state and government of Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain had already discussed the Ukraine conflict on Monday evening by conference call. According to the US, they agreed to stay in “close contact” in order to agree on a coordinated response to Russia’s troop movements on the border with Ukraine.