On the last days of 2021, with much of the world already turning toward the new year, two leaders who have long measured each other across a divided continent spoke by phone for fifty minutes and agreed, at least in outline, to talk. Biden, resting at his home in Delaware, and Putin, in the Kremlin's late-night quiet, traded warnings about invasion and sanctions even as they set a calendar of meetings in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna. It is an old human pattern: fear of a new war pressing against the stubborn hope that words can still hold back the troops. Whether that hope proves sound will dep
Kremlin Says Putin Is Satisfied After Biden Call, Setting Up Three Rounds of Европейский Security Talks
Nothing about them without them.
Mark
Both sides called this call a success. Is that unusual?
Mimi
Not entirely. The Kremlin says Putin is satisfied because three negotiating tracks are now scheduled: Geneva on Jan. 9, Brussels on Jan. 11, Vienna on Jan. 13.
Mark
And the White House?
Mimi
Its readout stresses something else: Biden urged de-escalation and warned of a decisive response if Russia invades Ukraine. Progress, it said, requires de-escalation.
Luke
So the meetings are agreed, but not the premise. Moscow says it is happy; Washington is attaching conditions. We only have Ushakov's account of Putin's mood.
Mimi
True, and the sanctions exchange shows the gap. Putin, per Ushakov, called big new penalties a colossal mistake that could sever relations.
Mark
What does Russia actually want from these talks?
Mimi
Security guarantees: no NATO expansion to Ukraine or Georgia, and NATO forces back to 1997 positions. U.S. and NATO officials call those non-starters.
Luke
Worth noting that Ushakov said it's unclear what compromise is possible. That's not a sign of a deal.
Mark
And Europe's role?
Mimi
Largely spectators so far. Ned Price said 'nothing about them without them,' and Blinken called Zelenskiy.
Luke
That's a pledge, not yet a demonstrated practice. Also, the invasion timing comes from what the U.S. told allies; the Kremlin denies any plan.
Il Polso
- Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine has Washington warning of a possible invasion as early as next month, before spring mud sets in.
- Biden promised a decisive response and economic penalties, while Putin answered that new sanctions would amount to severing relations with the West.
- Diplomacy is being rushed into motion, with bilateral talks in Geneva on January 9 and NATO-Russia and OSCE meetings to follow within days.
- Moscow's demand for security guarantees, including limits on NATO expansion, is being called a non-starter by Washington and its allies, leaving the talks on a narrow and uncertain path.
On the last days of 2021, with much of the world already turning toward the new year, two leaders who have long measured each other across a divided continent spoke by phone for fifty minutes and agreed, at least in outline, to talk. Biden, resting at his home in Delaware, and Putin, in the Kremlin's late-night quiet, traded warnings about invasion and sanctions even as they set a calendar of meetings in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna. It is an old human pattern: fear of a new war pressing against the stubborn hope that words can still hold back the troops. Whether that hope proves sound will depend on whether the demands each side calls essential can ever be made to meet.
The call began in the late afternoon in Washington and ran fifty minutes, with Joe Biden speaking from his vacation home in Delaware. Afterward, the Kremlin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Vladimir Putin was satisfied, and he laid out a calendar: bilateral U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva on January 9, a Russia-NATO Council meeting in Brussels two days later, and OSCE-framed negotiations in Vienna on January 13. The two presidents agreed to stay in regular contact while the talks proceed.
The White House told a different story of the same conversation. Biden urged de-escalation around Ukraine and warned that the United States and its allies would respond decisively if Russia invaded, with a stronger NATO posture and sweeping economic measures on the table. Putin answered in kind, warning that further large-scale sanctions would sever relations with the West, a mistake that could carry serious consequences and reach into arms control, cybersecurity and climate.
Underneath the diplomacy lies a stark fear. Washington believes the massing of Russian forces near Ukraine could be preparation for an invasion before the ground thaws in spring. The Kremlin denies any such plan, but it is pressing for security guarantees, including a halt to NATO expansion toward former Soviet states and a rollback of NATO forces to their 1997 positions. Those demands are rejected by American and allied officials, and Ushakov admitted it was unclear what compromise was possible.
European capitals, watching from the sidelines, have insisted that nothing be decided about their continent without them, and U.S. officials have moved to reassure Kyiv and allies. The pattern is an echo of spring, when Putin backed down after a summit offer. This time the threats are economic rather than military, and the Geneva session on January 9 will be the first real test of whether either side can move.
The call began at 3:35 p.m. in Washington, which was 11:35 at night in Moscow, and it ran for 50 minutes. President Joe Biden took it from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he is on vacation. By early Friday Moscow time, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov was telling reporters that Vladimir Putin was satisfied with the result.
Ushakov laid out a calendar. Bilateral U.S.-Russia talks will open in Geneva on Jan. 9. Two days later, a Russia-NATO Council meeting will take place in Brussels. On Jan. 13, negotiations will follow in Vienna within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The two presidents also agreed to stay in regular contact while the talks proceed, and to oversee the bilateral track directly. Ushakov called the conversation good, constructive and frank, and said it offered a good basis for starting negotiations. According to the Kremlin, Putin had asked for the call as a prelude to those talks.
The White House described a different emphasis. Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden urged Putin to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine and warned that the United States and its allies would respond decisively if Russia invades. She said Biden backed diplomacy through the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue, the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE, but stressed that substantive progress is possible only in an atmosphere of de-escalation. A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said Biden presented two paths, diplomacy or serious consequences. The consequences would likely include a stronger NATO force posture and sweeping economic measures.
Putin answered the sanctions warning in kind, according to Ushakov. Further large-scale penalties, he said, would amount to severing relations between Moscow and the West. Ushakov quoted him calling that a colossal mistake that could bring the most serious consequences. Such a rupture could affect the other subjects Washington wants to pursue with Moscow, including arms control, cybersecurity and climate change.
The call follows a Dec. 7 video conversation in which Biden affirmed support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and warned of unprecedented economic penalties for Russian aggression. The U.S. has told European allies that the large Russian military presence near Ukraine could be preparation for an invasion as early as next month, before the frozen ground turns to mud in spring. Washington says it will closely watch troop movements along the border. The Kremlin denies any plan to invade.
Moscow is, however, demanding security guarantees. They include a ban on any further NATO expansion to former Soviet states such as Ukraine and Georgia, and a pullback of NATO forces in Europe to the positions they held in 1997. American officials and NATO allies have called those conditions non-starters. Ushakov said it is not yet clear what compromise is possible, though Russia will naturally consider some concerns of the U.S. and its allies. For Moscow, he said, the main thing is not compromise but obtaining security guarantees it urgently needs.
European leaders have largely been spectators as Washington and Moscow settled the shape of talks about the continent's security. U.S. officials have tried to answer that worry. State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday that the principle is inviolable: nothing about them without them. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday and said he reaffirmed full U.S. support. The White House plans to consult allies before the January talks and to brief partners on Thursday's call.
The pattern is familiar. In the spring, Putin also massed forces near Ukraine, then backed down in April after Biden offered a summit in a call; that meeting took place in June. The West's threats this time are economic, and there is no talk of sending troops into Ukraine. The Geneva session on Jan. 9 will be the first test of whether the two sides' stated positions can move.
Citazioni salienti
Today's conversation was good, constructive, frank, and provides a good basis for the start of negotiations.— Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin foreign policy aide
Substantive progress in these dialogues can occur only in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation.— Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, describing Biden's position
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