MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin was satisfied by his call
with Joe Biden but warned the US president new sanctions risked a
"complete rupture," insisting Russia needed concrete results from
upcoming security talks, Moscow said Friday.
اضافة اعلان
Biden and Putin discussed soaring Russia-West tensions over
Ukraine on Thursday in a phone call to open the door for a diplomatic solution
informal talks due next month.
The call, held at the request of the Kremlin leader, lasted
50 minutes, a White House official said from Wilmington, Delaware, where Biden
was spending the New Year's holiday at home.
Putin's foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said the Kremlin
was overall "pleased" with the talks but added Putin warned Biden
Moscow needed a positive outcome, and the upcoming security talks could not
last indefinitely.
"We need a result, and we will be pushing for a result
in the form of ensuring guaranteed security for Russia," Ushakov told
reporters in a conference call.
Earlier this month, the Russians issued a sweeping set of
demands, including guarantees that NATO would not expand further and a bar on
new US military bases in former territories of the Soviet Union.
"Negotiations should not turn into idle talk,"
Ushakov said. He did not give a precise timeframe but said the Kremlin would
assess the situation after several rounds of talks set to begin in January in
Geneva, Brussels, and Vienna.
"Then we will make conclusions," he said.
During the call, according to Ushakov, Biden said the United
States could introduce major sanctions against Russia if tensions over Ukraine
continued to escalate.
Washington and its European allies accuse Russia of
threatening Ukraine with an invasion.
Putin warned Biden against introducing new sanctions, saying
they could lead to a "complete rupture" in Russia and the West ties.
"This will be a colossal mistake which could lead to
serious -- the most serious -- consequences. We hope this will not
happen," Ushakov said.
Asked if Russia would be ready to agree to a compromise,
Ushakov said: "What is a compromise? Naturally, the negotiations mean that
we will take into account American concerns."
But he added that it was not a compromise that Russia was
seeking but security guarantees. "We will push for that," he added.
In an article for Foreign Policy published Thursday, Anatoly
Antonov, Russia's ambassador to the United States, said the current situation
was "extremely dangerous."
"No one should doubt our determination to defend our
security. However, everything has its limits," he wrote.
"If our partners keep constructing military-strategic
realities imperiling the existence of our country, we will be forced to create
similar vulnerabilities for them."
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