Biden and Putin will call each other this Thursday before negotiations on January 10

While the diplomatic crisis is strong between the West and Moscow, the place is still for dialogue: Joe Biden and Vladimir Poutine will talk to each other. The American and Russian presidents will indeed call each other this Thursday “to discuss various subjects, including the next diplomatic contacts with Russia”, announced Wednesday the American spokesperson for the National Security Council, Emily Horne. The information was also confirmed by the Kremlin.

This will be the second telephone interview between the two leaders in less than a month. The first appeal was strained after Biden threatened Putin with sanctions “unlike any other” in the event of an attack on Ukraine. This time, the conversation between the two heads of state will take place two weeks before negotiations between the two countries scheduled for January 10 in Geneva on nuclear arms control treaties and the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, where the Westerners accuse Moscow of massing troops in preparation for a possible attack.

Jean-Yves Le Drian consulted

Joe Biden, who will meet with his counterpart from his home in Delaware, will be ready to take “a diplomatic route” but the United States, which remains “deeply concerned” about the presence of Russian troops on the border with the United States. Ukraine will also be “prepared to respond” in the event of an invasion, according to a White House official. Washington “would like to see (Russian) troops return to their usual training areas,” said this source.

The US president also continues to consult “his allies and partners” about Ukraine, said Emily Horne. Ahead of Thursday’s call, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the one hand, and his French, German and British counterparts on the other.

Sergey Lavrov ruled out any “concession” from Moscow

The head of American diplomacy thus reaffirmed to Volodymyr Zelensky “the unwavering support of the United States for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the face of the military strengthening of Russia”. The Ukrainian president, for his part, underlined in a tweet that he had received the assurance of “full American support” to “counter a Russian attack”.

With the French Foreign Ministers, Jean-Yves Le Drian, German, Annalena Baerbock, and British, Elizabeth Truss, Antony Blinken then spoke of “the importance of continuous coordination in order to deter any Russian attack against Ukraine. “. The four foreign ministers further reaffirmed the “consensus” to “impose massive consequences and exorbitant costs on Russia” where appropriate. But, a sign that the discussions of January 10 will be bitter, the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov has already ruled out any “concession”.