Biden, Putin speak for 2+ hours, mostly about Ukraine and NATO

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President
Vladimir Putin held a video call on Dec. 7 that lasted for more than two hours,
the presidents’ teams announced. Most of the time was spent discussing issues
related to Ukraine. Biden hammered home the message that an advance of Russian
troops into Ukraine would be met by reactions the West was not prepared to take
in 2014, according to a statement issued by the White House shortly after the
call. He also reiterated that it is the sovereign choice of the Ukrainian
people to join NATO and not something for Russia to determine. Putin reiterated
that Ukraine’s rapprochement with NATO and the installation of NATO
infrastructure, especially offensive-capable missiles, would not be tolerated,
and that written guarantees from NATO and Ukraine would be required.
Furthermore, Putin brought up Ukraine’s undermining of the Minsk Agreement.

In an announcement that came out much later than the
Americans’ and was available only in Russian for hours, the Kremlin also
pointed out that Biden had made it clear that severe sanctions would be “in
case of futher escalation.”

Both sides agreed that further talks were required,
but no details as to what that meant were given.

James Hydzik: As only the
introduction between the two presidents was released to the public,
commentators have to rely on precedent as well as the official announcements.
The first thing they note is the unusual order and content of the releases
themselves. During the Obama and Trump administrations, it was common practice
for the Kremlin to release an English-language read out of the call almost
immediately. This time, the order was reversed, and the Russian side was only
in Russian for hours. Analysts are also pointing out that it is extremely rare
for the Russian government to acknowledge threats made against it such as the
severe sanctions that are possible now.

It is possible that Biden was heard, and that even
after the ground hardens in January, Russia’s tanks will stay put, and people
will justifiably breathe a collective sigh of relief. But approximately 700 of
those tanks, according to estimates from 2020, are sitting in Luhansk and
Donetsk oblasts, and they don’t have Ukrainian flags on them. The missiles in
Crimea are not just Russian-made, they belong to Russia. If it works, and this
is still a very big ‘if’, then Ukraine and the collective West can be pleased
with having dodged this bullet. But the gunman remains.