Biden-Putin talks on phone for 50 minutes…Trust war over Ukraine crisis

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call ahead of working-level negotiations between the two countries on January 10, next year. Although the two leaders had a nervous battle over the Ukraine situation, it is evaluated that they also laid a stepping stone for resolving the conflict amicably.

According to foreign media such as Reuters and the Financial Times (FT) on the 30th (local time), the White House called for 50 minutes between the two leaders from 3:35 p.m. (05:35 a.m. U.S. time on the 31st, U.S. time) on the same day (local time). Said he had made a call.

The two leaders held a face-to-face bilateral meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, in June, and held a video meeting on the 7th of this month. The two countries have been in a war of nerves over Ukraine. When Ukraine, which had previously belonged to the Soviet Union and was under the influence of Russia in the Eastern Bloc, pushed for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a western sphere of power, Russia protested and gathered about 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine. .

The United States and Western European countries defined this as a Russian re-invasion of Ukraine and raised a sense of vigilance, while Russia is protesting that it is a military relocation in its own country for self-defense. In particular, Russia is demanding a security agreement from the United States and the West that documents NATO’s ban on East Asia, including bans on Ukraine and Georgia from joining NATO, but the United States refuses to do so.

The phone call that day also seems to have focused on the Ukraine issue.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied his military plans to invade Ukraine, but warned that he has “all kinds” of options if his needs are not met. In effect, it rejected US demands to rule out a military solution. In particular, he threatened the US and Western powers to impose additional economic sanctions on their countries, saying that it would be a ‘mistake that future generations will regret’ and could lead to a severance of relations between the two powers.

On the other hand, President Biden warned that if Russia re-invades Ukraine, the United States and its allies and partners are prepared to respond decisively, with significant costs and consequences. However, President Biden did leave room for diplomatic resolution by saying that if Moscow does not take military action, some of Russia’s proposals are not negotiable, but other demands can be discussed.

White House Press Secretary Jen Saki said in a statement Thursday that “President Biden has made it clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.” He also reiterated that substantial progress in bilateral dialogue can only occur in an environment of ‘reduction’, not expansion.”

However, foreign media from both countries agreed that the conversation was quite meaningful. In particular, the first round of US-Russia security security negotiations to be held on January 10 in Geneva, Switzerland, the NATO-Russia (-US) meeting to be held on the 12th, and the Organization for European Security and Cooperation (OSCE)-Russia (-US) meeting to be held on the 13th. It was an opportunity to set the ‘tone and tenor’ of the two forces in Esau.

Citing a senior US administration official, CNBC said, “The tone of the dialogue today was serious and practical. It will be based on the discussion today,” he said.

Reuters also quoted a senior administration official as saying that “President Biden offered two paths: diplomacy and deterrence.” .

“The conversation today was frank, informative, and specific,” said Yuri Ushakov, Russian foreign affairs adviser to President Putin. “It created a good background for future talks.” “President Putin detailed the basic principles laid out by Russia in the security agreement, and President Biden in principle agreed with this point of view,” he said. , which is a key requirement for us (Russia).”

Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duke University in the US (a Soviet/Russian expert), a civilian expert, emphasized on CNBC that the dialogue between the two leaders was productive, but that the Ukrainian government (the party involved) should intervene in resolving the situation. “With the currency of the two leaders today, European security has reached an important point,” he said. “, he expressed his apprehension.

Earlier, after the two leaders’ video conference on the 7th, the two countries made a promise to ease tensions in military clashes in Ukraine. The United States will not deploy strategic weapons in Ukraine and Russia will withdraw 10,000 troops from the Ukrainian border.

With the deadline of the two countries’ promises approaching by the 2nd of next month, the United States is keeping its promises, but Russia has yet to show any signs of withdrawing its troops. In response, U.S. intelligence officials said they had little confidence that Russia would keep its promise, saying they had yet to find evidence of a military withdrawal from satellite images and reconnaissance planes in the area.