Washington, December 8, 2008 : .President Joe Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia held a conference call to discuss a variety bilateral issues.
They also discussed the Ukraine crisis and the Iran nuclear agreement. Biden expressed the “deep concerns” of US and European Allies over “Russian escalation forces surrounding Ukraine”.
The White House stated in a post-meeting that it would be responding with economic and other strong measures to counter any military escalation.
Biden said that he had “reiterated support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and called for deescalation” according to Xinhua’s news agency.
It stated that the two presidents had given their teams responsibility to continue following up and that the US would coordinate with its allies and partners.
According to the report, the presidents discussed also the US-Russia Dialog on Strategic Stability.
This separate dialogue dealt with ransomware and joint work on issues in the region, such as Iran.
According to a Kremlin statement, leaders were primarily focused on Ukraine’s internal crisis during the second round of talks within six months.
Putin used specific examples to explain to Biden the “destructive policy” of Ukrainian authorities.He also expressed concern over Kiev’s “provocative actions towards Donbass.”
Putin stated that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, (NATO), is trying to conquer Ukrainian territory and has been building its military capabilities near Russian borders.
Putin requested that Biden guarantee NATO’s eastern expansion and the deployment of offensive weapons in Russia.
Putin invited Biden to remove all restrictions that had accumulated on the operation of US and Russian diplomatic missions in order to create the conditions necessary for the repair of bilateral ties.
Biden and Putin met for the first time in person at a summit held in Geneva, June.They also spoke by phone in July.
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