Biden and Putin to discuss Ukraine by phone

Washington, Dec 30: US President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday in a call requested by the Russian side.

It comes as the US and Ukrainian governments have raised concerns over a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's borders.

What will Biden and Putin discuss?

Thursday's call will be the second this December. Earlier this month, Biden warned Putin of "severe consequences" were Russian forces to launch a further incursion into Ukrainian territory.

Biden is set to tell Putin that the US seeks a "diplomatic path" rather than conflict, according to one senior administration official, who said Washington remains "gravely concerned" about the Russian military buildup on Ukraine's borders.

The official added the US was "also prepared to respond if Russia advances with a further invasion of Ukraine."

Biden is also expected to emphasize that talks with Russia ought occur in "a context of de-escalation rather than escalation."

The call is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. UTC) in Washington.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed a call would occur Thursday evening in Moscow. Biden who is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware this week is expected to take the call from there.

What has the US said to its allies?

Prior to Thursday's call, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday.

After that call, Zelenskyy affirmed on Twitter, "I was assured of full US support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression."

I had a phone conversation with @SecBlinken. We agreed to continue consultations to reconcile positions and coordinate diplomatic efforts to achieve peace. I was assured of full 🇺🇸 support for 🇺🇦 in countering Russian aggression.

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 29, 2021

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken also spoke Wednesday with the German, French and UK foreign ministers about "coordination to deter any further Russian aggression against Ukraine."

The US has maintained, notably on a call with leaders on NATO's eastern flank earlier this month, that the US is committed to "nothing about you without you" when it comes to security on the European continent.

What is the situation in Ukraine?

Currently Russian proxy forces remain active in Donbass, the industrial region in Ukraine's east, and have since 2014. That year, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea, an act recognized by very few countries as legal.

The war has already cost 13,000 lives. Now with around 100,000 Russian troops amassed on Ukraine's borders, according to US and Ukrainian officials, there is great anxiety preparations for a large-scale invasion are underway.

Russia maintains no invasion is planned and that it is free to move its own forces how it pleases within Russian territory.

Russia recently put in writing a wish list of sorts of security guarantees it seeks from the US. Many of those, such as no further eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance, are nonstarters because Washington in principle is disinclined to give Russia any veto power over sovereign nations steps towards membership.

When are US and Russian officials to meet next?

Senior US officials have set a date of January 10 to meet in Geneva. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has vowed his country will take a "hard line."

Those talks will not include Biden and Putin as occurred last June when the US sought greater predictability and stability in relations with Russia. The military build-up on Ukraine's borders since then has done much to quell Washington's hopes.

A similar Russian military build-up occurred last spring before Biden and Putin met in Geneva.

After meeting with US officials in January, Russian officials are scheduled to meet with the NATO-Russia Council as well as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The OSCE was a key forum at the end of the Cold War for bringing Russia to the table to discuss human rights under the framework of the "human dimension" conference.

Source: DW