(REUTERS): US President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for two hours in a high-stakes diplomatic effort on Tuesday to de-escalate a crisis over Ukraine amid Western fears that Moscow is poised to invade its southern neighbour.
The two began their conversation via video-link at 10:07 a.m., according to the White House, and it ended at 12:08 p.m. The White House, however, did not display any visuals from the secure ‘Situation Room’ where Biden was located.
Meanwhile, Russian TV footage showed Biden and Putin greeting each other in a friendly manner at the start of what was expected to be a tense exchange. The White House said that Mr. Biden would “reaffirm the United States’ support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
The Kremlin has said it hopes the two leaders can hold an in-person summit to discuss what it has described as the lamentable state of US-Russia relations, which have sunk to their lowest since the end of the Cold War.
US officials said before the video conference that Biden would tell Putin that Russia and its banks could be hit with the toughest economic sanctions yet if it attacks Ukraine.
They said the sanctions, which one source said could target Russia’s biggest banks and Moscow’s ability to convert roubles into dollars and other currencies, were designed to dissuade Putin from using tens of thousands of troops massed near the Ukrainian border to attack its southern neighbour.
The Kremlin, which said before Tuesday’s meeting it did not expect any breakthroughs, has denied harbouring any intention to attack Ukraine and has said its troop posture is defensive. But Moscow has voiced rising vexation over Western military aid to Ukraine.
Moscow has likewise questioned Ukrainian intentions and said it wants guarantees that Kyiv will not use force to try to retake territory lost in 2014 to Russia-backed separatists, a scenario Ukraine has ruled out.
Leaders from Britain, the US, France, Germany and Italy will hold a call at 1800 GMT following the Biden-Putin talks, the White House and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said.
The same allies spoke on Monday and “agreed to stay in close touch on a coordinated and comprehensive approach in response to Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders,” the White House said.
The White House said that after the talk with Putin, Biden would reach out to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
