Western Sanctions Against Moscow Could Cut Ties: Putin Warns Biden

"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