jpnn.com, RUSIA - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned US President Joe Biden by telephone that Western sanctions against Moscow would be a grave mistake and could cut ties between the two countries, the Kremlin said.
According to the Kremlin, namely the government of the Russian Federation, Russia is satisfied with the outcome of the telephone conversation.
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Presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said the talks were focused on the security guarantees Moscow wanted from the West regarding the deployment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
Biden seemed to agree that Moscow needed those guarantees and seemed serious about the negotiations although disagreements persisted and a possible compromise remained unclear, Ushakov said.
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Russia has stoked Western concerns with the deployment of tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine in the past two months.
Moscow denies plans to attack Ukraine and says it is in its right to mobilize troops in its own country if it deems it necessary.
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The United States has repeatedly warned Moscow that Washington would impose very heavy sanctions if Russia launched a new attack on Ukraine.
That threat, said Ushakov, was reiterated by Biden during talks with Putin on Thursday.
"Our president immediately responded that if the West decides in this or other circumstances to impose these unprecedented sanctions which have been mentioned then that could lead to a complete breakdown in ties between our countries and cause the most serious damage to relations between Russia and the West," Ushakov told Reuters.
Moscow, concerned about the West rearming Ukraine, said it wanted binding guarantees from the NATO military alliance about their expansion and deployment of weapons in eastern Europe.
Russia is scheduled to hold a meeting on the guarantees it wants with the US in Geneva on January 10, with NATO in Brussels on January 12, and another meeting under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on January 13.
Ushakov said Thursday's phone call had created "a good backdrop" for future meetings.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backed pro-Russian rebels in the same year that the government in Kiev lost control of southern Ukraine. (ant/dil/mcr20/jpnn)
This news has been broadcast on JPNN.com with the title: Amerika Cs Ancam Rusia, Putin Janjikan Pembalasan Dahsyat yang Bakal Dicatat Sejarah