Kremlin praises Putin-Biden talks as constructive – aide

MOSCOW, December 31. / TASS /. The Kremlin is satisfied with the talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Joe Biden of the US, viewing them as constructive, Assistant to the President of Russia for Foreign Policy Yury Ushakov stated.
“Overall, we are satisfied with the conversation, since it was frank, meaningful and specific. I would say that <…> these talks were quite constructive,” Ushakov said.
The Kremlin aide noted that the presidents were well prepared for the conversation, it was “really serious, although it was quite natural that the leaders congratulated each other on New Year’s holidays, wishing success to the Russian and American peoples.”
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Putin said new sanctions could cause complete severance of Russian-US ties – Kremlin aide

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a call with his US counterpart Joe Biden that relations between the two countries could be severed completely in the event the threatened “unprecedented sanctions” become a reality, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on Friday.
Putin was responding to Biden’s warning that Western countries will introduce massive economic and military sanctions if further escalation on the Ukrainian border takes place, Ushakov said.
“Our president immediately responded to that by saying that if the West goes ahead to introduce abovementioned unprecedented sanctions, then all that could cause a total severance of relations between our countries and most serious damage will be done to Russia’s relations with the West in general,” the diplomat said.
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Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on President Biden’s Phone Call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. President Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine. He made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine. President Biden also expressed support for diplomacy, starting early next year with the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue, at NATO through the NATO-Russia Council, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. President Biden reiterated that substantive progress in these dialogues can occur only in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation.

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Five key takeaways from latest Putin-Biden call

Thursday’s 50-minute call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden touched on security issues that are expected to be discussed at length next month in a series of high-level diplomatic meetings.
Here are the key points the two leaders discussed:
The US President reportedly indicated that Washington was not planning to deploy “offensive strike weapons in Ukraine,” the Kremlin said after the call. Top Putin aide Yury Ushakov said obtaining a verbal pledge had been “one of the key points” for Moscow, as far as the proposals Russia had made to the West about its security were concerned. The White House appeared to pour cold water on the claim of any promise having been made, however, stating that Biden had made “no declaration as to intentions” during the conversation.
Continue reading at www.rt.com

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