Biden invites Putin to a crunch summit amid deteriorating relations between Russia and the United States, as American warships set course for the Black Sea.
The White House has proposed a formal meeting in “a third country” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, to discuss tensions in Ukraine, security issues, and the need for nuclear arms control.
Officials from the United States announced that the two leaders discussed “a variety of regional and global issues” in a statement released on Tuesday. Biden is said to have “voiced concerns about Russia’s sudden military build-up” on the Crimean Peninsula and along the Ukrainian border during the talks, urging Moscow to “de-escalate tensions.”
Fighting in the Donbass area between Kiev’s forces and fighters from Moscow-backed self-declared republics has sparked widespread fears of a full-fledged war. The latest standoff comes after Kiev’s massive mobilisation of troops and equipment, prompting Russia to step up its own military presence along its western border.
Some in the West have stated that Moscow is preparing an invasion of Ukraine, but Russian officials have dismissed such reports. Meanwhile, Washington has reportedly sent two warships to the Black Sea in a move widely viewed as a sign of support for Ukraine.
The situation on the Donbass contact line has been characterised as “frightening” by the Kremlin, and Russian diplomats have previously expressed their concerns to their American counterparts. State Department spokesman Ned Price, on the other hand, expressed concern about “credible” reports of Russian troop movements along the shared border and issued a “call on Russia to refrain from escalatory actions.”
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly in recent months, with Moscow recalling its ambassador for emergency talks about the future of relations with Washington.
Anatoly Antonov returned home following an interview in which Biden was asked if he thought Putin was a “killer.” “Mmhmm, I do,” said the US president. Numerous Russian officials responded harshly to his words.
Putin, on the other hand, was more circumspect, saying, “When I was a kid, when we were arguing in the playground, we used to say, whatever you say [about others] is what you are yourself.” He stated that the US is “determined” to maintain a relationship with Moscow, but only on “issues of interest to the US itself.”
Notably, the American summary of the call stated that Biden’s goal is to establish “a stable and predictable relationship with Russia that is consistent with US interests.” It went on to say that the proposed summit, which is expected to take place within the next few months, would allow the two leaders to “discuss the full range of issues confronting the United States and Russia.”
The Kremlin said in its own transcript of the call, released later Tuesday, that Biden “expressed interest in normalising bilateral relations,” and that they were able to find potential common ground on arms control, the Iranian nuclear programme, the situation in Afghanistan, and global climate change. Russian officials will now be directed to “work out issues raised during the phone conversation,” which could include a personal summit request.
If the meeting happens, it will be the first of its kind since Putin and Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, met in Helsinki in 2018. While the former president praised the conversation as “deeply fruitful,” the face-to-face meetings were tense, and any expected charm offensives were overshadowed by domestic pressure on Trump to condemn alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
