President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will speak on Thursday as the Russian leader has stepped up his demands for security guarantees in Eastern Europe while maintaining a disturbing troop build-up near Russia’s border with Ukraine.
The two leaders will discuss “ a variety of issues, including upcoming diplomatic engagements , ”said National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne in a statement announcing the call.
The talks occur when the Allies of the United States and the West have watched the concentration of Russian forces along the border, increasing to an estimated 100,000 and fueling fears that Moscow is preparing to invade more Ukraine.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken “reiterated America’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s military development on Ukraine’s borders.”
Price said The two discussed efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine and upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia.
Putin said earlier this week that he would consider a series of options if the West fails to deliver on its push for security guarantees that impede NATO expansion into Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Moscow presented draft documents of the security demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries and reverse their military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.
The United States and its allies have refused to offer to Russia the kind of guarantees on Ukraine that Putin wants, citing the NATO principle that membership is Open to any qualified country. They agree. however, to hold talks with Russia next month to discuss their concerns.
The United States and Russia will hold high-level talks on January 10. Representatives from Moscow and NATO are expected to meet later that week, as well as Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which includes the United States.
In Thursday’s call, which was requested by the Russians, Biden is expected to emphasize to Putin that the United States is united with its allies, but will demonstrate its willingness to engage in “ principled diplomacy ” with Russia, according to a senior administration official who briefed journalists. on the next call. The official spoke on condition of anonymity. The two leaders held a video call earlier this month.
The official added that the White House believes that leader-to-leader commitment is as important as the administration seeks to find. a way beyond this “moment of crisis” due to growing concerns of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In 2014, Russian troops marched towards the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea and took the territory of Ukraine. Russia’s annexation of Crimea, one of the darkest moments for former President Barack Obama on the international stage, looms large as Biden seeks to contain the current latent crisis.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has made clear in public comments that the administration is ready to discuss Moscow’s concerns about NATO in talks with Russian officials, but emphasized that Washington is committed to the “ beginning of nothing about you without you ”in policy making. affecting European allies.
“We are approaching the broader issue of diplomacy with Russia from the point of view that … significant progress on the table Negotiations, of course, will have to take place in a context of de-escalation rather than escalation, ”Sullivan said. at an event organized by the Council on Foreign Relations earlier this month. He added that “it is very difficult to see the deals consummate if we continue to see a cycle of escalation.”
The two leaders are also expected during Thursday’s call discuss efforts to persuade Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, which was effectively scrapped by the Trump administration.
Despite differences over Ukraine and other issues, White House officials have said that Iran’s nuclear issue is one they believe the United States and Russia can work on cooperatively.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Putin would speak with Biden on Thursday, but did not provide details.
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