Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden spoke by telephone on Saturday night about the Ukraine crisis. At 6.20 pm Norwegian time, the news agency AFP reports that the conversation has ended. It lasted for about an hour.
The conversation took place one day after the United States issued warnings that an invasion of Ukraine would probably take place soon.
According to the White House, Biden is said to have told Putin that he must withdraw all Russian forces near the border with Ukraine. He also warned the Russian president that the United States and its allies would react strongly if Russia invaded Ukraine, according to AFP.
WARNED PUTIN: President Joe Biden, here from the Camp David country house outside Washington DC The White House via AP
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Biden is also said to have warned Russia that an invasion would “lead to widespread human suffering and reduce Russia’s status.” The United States is still committed to resolving the conflict diplomatically, but it is also “equally prepared for other scenarios,” according to the White House.
Russia’s foreign policy adviser Yuru Ushakov says the US hysteria over the Ukraine case has “reached its peak”, according to Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs.
Ushakov also says that the United States is spreading lies about Russia, but that the conversation between the two heads of state was balanced and professional, and that they agreed to maintain contact.
Russia: Mock against common sense
Earlier Saturday, both Ukrainian and Russian authorities came out with criticism of US warnings.
Russia flatly denies that there is any truth in the US warnings of an imminent invasion of Ukraine. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published a statement on Telegram on Saturday afternoon Norwegian time.
“Every day for two months, the United States has declared that Russia is about to attack Ukraine. Ukraine’s president and representatives of the power apparatus in this country, have said for two months that they do not have such information (…) For two months they have mocked common sense and the Ukrainian people, and launched another global provocation campaign “, writes Zakharova who a response from the statements to US authorities.
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, described it as “intimidation propaganda”.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyj, for his part, said the information only provoked and created panic.
– Do not think so until I see it
The United States has ordered home most of the staff at the embassy in the capital, Kiev. Other US citizens have also been asked to leave the country.
According to the AP, Putin initially wanted the talks to take place on Monday. However, Biden did not agree. He believed, due to the information from the US intelligence, that the conversation between the two heads of state could not wait.
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