President Joe Biden spent 50 minutes talking to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon, hours after it emerged that the U.S. Air Force had flown a second spy plane over Ukraine as officers monitor Russia’s military build-up.
The White House stated that Biden would be making clear its intentions before the call. The diplomatic option of resolving tensions was available.
Russia sent tens, if not thousands, of soldiers close to Ukraine’s borders to alarm the West. Officials deny that they plan to invade.
According to a senior official in administration, the call started at 3:35 PM. The White House soon released a photo of Biden via a secured line inside his wood-panelled Delaware office.
The second recent flight was tracked by flight tracking sites and showed that a U.S. Air Force JSTARS spy aircraft flew over Eastern Ukraine on Thursday morning.
“The US Air Force flew another spy aircraft over eastern Ukraine to gather intelligence about the Russian military situation, per source,” Natasha Bertrand, CNN reporter, tweeted.
A senior official in the Biden administration said that Putin asked for this telephone call.
On Thursday, President Biden met with President Putin of Russia 50 minutes. White House officials confirmed that Putin requested the conversation.
The Russian Ministry of Defense released an image showing units of anti-aircraft rocket brigades during an exercise that took place in Kursk at the beginning of December. This region borders Ukraine.
America warned for weeks that Putin may be preparing tens to thousands of tanks, troops and artillery pieces in order to invade Ukraine. But the Kremlin insists it’s a defense force. (pictured: Russian forces are currently positioned in border areas)
The official stated that they are in a crisis situation and had been since some weeks due to the Russian buildup.
“It is going to take high levels of engagement to tackle this issue and try to find a pathway of de-escalation.”
Both parties accuse each other of provocations.
Moscow sees it as a sign that the West is closing in upon its territory and admitting ex-Soviet states to N.A.T.O.
Dmitry Polyansky (Russian First Deputy permanent Representative to United Nations) told reporters that Russia had betrayed its trust in it after the fall of the Soviet Union.
According to the state news agency TASS, he stated that ‘We are starting to be perceived by the West as a threat, by the United States’.
“What we are having right now is kind of a remake, Cold War 2.0.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne confirmed details of the call, saying the two leaders would ‘discuss a range of topics, including ‘upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia.’
They are likely to provide a glimpse into security discussions that will take place on January 10, where the sides will talk about arms control and Ukraine.
In the midst of increased tensions regarding Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden called each other on Thursday afternoon.
The White House released an image of President Biden at the Situation Room speaking to Putin via videolink.
Ukrainian Reservists participate in military drills close to Kiev, December 18th. This is as Ukraine prepares for an imminent Russian invasion.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, the first Deputy Permanent Representative for Russia to the United Nations, stated that the U.S.A and West are responsible for the start of Cold War 2.0
Biden said he accepted the invitation to speak because “he has always believed there is no substitute leader to leader dialog and engagement,” and this is true especially when it concerns Russia and his engagement with President Putin.
Putin will be told by him that there’s a diplomatic way to reduce tensions, but that it is possible to expect severe consequences for a Ukrainian invasion.
The official stated that President Biden will make it clear to Putin during his talks with him, “that we are ready for diplomacy” and for a diplomatic way forward. We are ready to respond in case Russia invades Ukraine again.
Moscow denied that Russia is planning on invading Ukraine.
Putin, however, raised the stakes by stating that he will consider several options in the event the West fails to offer security guarantees for Ukraine’s joining NATO.
The official said that Biden would also explain some of the implications of aggression during the call.
Official said that the U.S. was ready to offer Ukraine ‘further assistance’ if Russia invades.
“And we would like see clearly, a reduction of that buildup, and the returning of forces to their regular training areas (or their long term deployment area,’ stated the official.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden will call President Vladimir Putin to talk about tensions in Ukraine. This is a few weeks after their last video conference.
Russian troops are huddled at Ukraine’s border, raising concerns about an imminent invasion
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Ukrainian President
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday about the tensions and outlined Biden’s call with Putin.
He tweeted that “We will continue to consult with Ukraine, NATO Allies and Partners in our diplomatic efforts deterring further Russian aggression.”
The accusation was made by a Russian diplomat who accused America of starting a new Cold War.
The stakes are further raised when it was revealed that Russia deployed in service a secretive’star-wars’ missile designed to take down satellites.
Defense sources spoke with TASS Wednesday to confirm that the S-550 missile defense system has entered combat service.
The missile is not known much but it’s thought to represent Russia’s latest venture into space weapons race. This weapon is intended to strike targets thousands of miles high above the earth like low-orbit satellites or nuclear warheads.
Moscow was believed to have conducted a test using this weapon system. It exploded one of its defunct satellites last month, angering Washington.