3 years ago

US couldn't quell Russia's security concerns - Kremlin

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov briefing reporters after a tense phone call between the US and Russian presidents says Moscow will evaluate all the options laid out by Washington but these were not enough to meet Russia's concerns.

AP

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met on June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland where the Russian leader had stepped up his demands for security guarantees in Eastern Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Joe Biden in a phone call that Moscow would review ideas Washington laid out to address Russia's security demands, but these still did not tackle Moscow's key concerns, the Kremlin said.

Biden and Putin spoke by phone on Saturday amid high tension over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine that has fuelled fears of a looming invasion. Moscow has repeatedly denied any such plans.

In a briefing with reporters, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the call as business-like but said it had taken place against a backdrop of "hysteria" in the West about a looming Russian invasion that he said was absurd.

"Hysteria has reached its peak," Ushakov said.

Ushakov said Biden had asked for the call to take place on Saturday as a result of the rising hysteria.

"Biden predictably mentioned possible tough anti-Russian sanctions in the context of the tense situation around Ukraine, but that was not the focus of his rather lengthy conversation with the Russian leader," Ushakov said.

He said Biden laid out a number of considerations to address the array of security demands that Russia made of the West late last year, including a veto on Ukraine, ever joining NATO.

"I will immediately note that the Russian president reacted in the spirit that the Russian side would carefully analyse the considerations expressed by Biden and would undoubtedly take them into account," the Kremlin official said.

"But unfortunately, and this was said, these considerations do not touch upon the central, key elements of Russian initiatives," he added.

'False information'

Ushakov said Biden's ideas largely repeated the ideas set out in the US and NATO counter-proposals to Russia's security demands that were handed over on January 26.

Ushakov complained about the US claims, saying that Americans even released "the date of the Russian invasion".

"We don't understand why false information about our intentions is being passed to the media," he told reporters.

He also added that Putin once again addressed his concerns about the West arming Ukraine and that Kiev authorities have been "sabotaging" Western-brokered peace agreements to end a years-long conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Ushakov underlined Russia had practically finished drawing up its response to those counterproposals and would announce them soon.

Putin told Biden he thought the West was not putting enough pressure on Ukraine to implement the Minsk peace agreements on the conflict in east Ukraine, Ushakov said.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies