Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he was “convinced” that an “effective” dialogue was possible with the United States, in the end-of-year congratulatory message sent to his American counterpart Joe Biden, just a few hours before a telephone conversation. place between the two leaders, reports AFP.
“I am convinced (…) that we will be able to make progress and build an effective Russian-American dialogue, based on mutual respect and consideration for each other’s national interests,” Putin wrote to Biden in a telegram. Kremlin, amid the Russian-Western crisis due to tensions over Ukraine, according to Agerpres.
Biden and Putin are due to have a telephone conversation on Thursday, around 20:30 GMT, the second such discussion in less than a month, reminds AFP.
According to the White House, the US president wants to propose a “diplomatic way” to get out of the crisis.
Moscow, for its part, has made its demands known, mainly targeting a treaty banning any future NATO enlargement, especially to Ukraine.
The first talks between the United States and Russia are scheduled to take place on January 10 in Geneva.
Westerners accuse Moscow of preparing for the invasion of Ukraine after Russia deployed tens of thousands of troops and weapons at the common border.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will lead security talks in Geneva, Reuters reports.
Russia will then hold talks with NATO in Brussels on January 12, followed by a larger meeting attended by Russia, the United States and other European states on January 13, which the Russian MFA has announced will hold. place in Vienna.
“During the talks, we will seek to obtain firm legal guarantees from the Americans for Russia’s security, namely that NATO will not expand to the east and that no weapons systems will be deployed on our borders that threaten Russia,” she said on Thursday. Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zaharova said in a press briefing.
Editor : A.C.
