Ahead of the talks with Putin, the American President conversed with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain. The joint statement was published on the website of the Elysée Palace.
The document says that the heads of five states and governments have assessed the situation that has created tension between the Russian Federation and Ukraine and have reiterated their call for respect for the sovereignty of the Ukrainian state. They have emphasized their resoluteness to act concertedly in order to ensure peace and security in Europe.
Also, before the heads of the White House and the Kremlin met for the video conference, State Secretary Antony Blinken called President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. “The State Secretary and I coordinated our positions ahead of the talks of Biden and Putin, ‒ Zelenskyy noted. ‒ “We agreed to act together and in a coordinated manner. There should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Two leaders did not plan to make a joint statement after the video conference. The first information about the talks’ agenda appeared on the website of the White House. According to the readout of the video conversation, Joe Biden expressed the deep concern of the United States and its European Allies about the build-up of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
The American President made clear that the U.S. and the Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation.
President Biden reiterated his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.
Later, during a briefing at the White House, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan disclosed some details of the video call. For instance, he said that the President was direct and straightforward with President Putin.
Sallivan stressed, “He told President Putin directly that if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States and our European Allies would respond with strong economic measures. We would provide additional defensive materiel to the Ukrainians above and beyond that which we are already providing.”
At the same time, Sallivan did not specify what sanctions the United States plans to impose on Russia or types of defensive weapons Ukraine will receive in the event of Russian aggression.
The national security advisor underlined that in response to such an aggression, the United States would fortify its NATO Allies on the eastern flank with additional capabilities. Besides, Joe Biden told Vladimir Putin that there is always a different scenario which includes de-escalation and diplomacy.
Sallivan refused to give a detailed answer to a question about specific consequences that Russia may face if it continues escalation against Ukraine.
He answered in this way, “I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked President Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now.”
He added that the United States would continue coordinating its actions with those of its European Allies and were ready to strengthen the defense potential of Ukraine.
According to National Security Advisor Jake Sallivan, President Biden made it clear to President Putin that he would not commit himself to any “red line” drawn by the Russian Federation regarding the expansion of NATO eastward. He stressed, “But I will tell you clearly and directly he made no such commitments or concessions. He stands by the proposition that countries should be able to freely choose who they associate with.”
For its part, the Kremlin informed that “on a whole the conversation was open and businesslike” and that Ukraine was the central topic of the discussion. Putin insisted that the Minsk agreements have no alternative and accused Ukraine of its unwillingness to fulfil them.
Also, during the conversation with his American counterpart the Russian President tried to put full responsibility onto Ukraine’s shoulders for the ongoing war in Donbas and accused her of “pursuing destructive policies directed at dismantling the Minsk agreements reached within the Normandy Format.”
The Kremlin questioned Joe Biden’s statement about the increasing Russian military presence at the border with Ukraine and blamed NATO for “developing” Ukrainian territory and amassing its troops and weapons near the border of the Russian Federation. The Kremlin once again called for “giving it reliable, legally fixed guarantees that rule out NATO expansion eastward.”
After his video call to Vladimir Putin, the head of the White House briefed the leaders of France, Germany, Great Britain and Italy on his conversation with his Russian counterpart.
According to the White House, during the telephone conversation President Biden and his European colleagues agreed that their teams would work together “to ensure that our engagement with Russia going forward both involves and is closely coordinated with European allies and partners so that we are all on the same page.”
According to Jake Sallivan, President Biden will call President Zelenskyy on Thursday, December 9.
The official Kyiv has already responded to the upcoming talks.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the chief of the presidential office, said, “We thank President Biden for his unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and for his efforts to engage European countries to protect international law and stabilize the political situation in the world and in our region in particular.”
At the same time, Podolyak noted that the Biden-Putin talks were not a sensation but rather an interim analysis of those events of the global agenda that directly concern the United States, its European allies and partners.
“We will cooperate with the American side in order to achieve concrete results that will agree with the interests of Ukraine,” Podolyak underlined and added that Ukraine was ready to return to diplomatic instruments that will help ensure the de-escalation of the situation at her borders.
In the meantime, a flashmob titled “Ukrainians Will Resist” has been launched in Ukraine in the face of possible invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. One of the flashmob’s organizers, Andriy Levus, a former deputy of the Ukrainian Parliament, posted a tweet, “Putin demands Ukraine to surrender. Otherwise he threatens with a war. Let’s demonstrate Putin and the world that Ukrainians won’t trade on their sovereignty. There will be no ‘peace’ on Russia’s terms even if the West has agreed with Putin and the Ukrainian authorities have surrendered, Ukrainians will resist Russian occupants. Putin, you are welcome to hell!”
The newspaper Voice of Ukraine
