Did Putin Biden talk about the Ukrainian crisis again or become a ＂Cuban missile crisis＂ within one month？

The game between Russia and the United States is intensifying. Biden has publicly declared that Russia is the "biggest threat" to US security, and the US government has indicated that it is planning to impose strict export control measures on Russia.

Russian-European relations also continued to deteriorate, and the German government suspended the qualification certification procedure for the "Beixi -2" natural gas operator.

Russia-Spain relations in 2021:

Always hovering at freezing point

forecast

Since the Ukrainian crisis, the relationship between Russia and western countries has been hovering at freezing point. Considering Biden’s previous public declaration that Russia is the "biggest threat" to American security, it is expected that the relationship between Russia and the United States and other western countries will remain in the cold in the new year.

review

In 2021, the relationship between Russia and the United States and the West continued to be tense. After Biden’s administration came to power, Russia and the United States first explored each other and had limited contacts. The two heads of state met twice this year, but failed to ease bilateral relations, and the game between Russia and the United States continued to intensify. Russia demands that the United States not establish military bases in the territories of former Soviet republics that are not NATO members, and not carry out military cooperation with these countries, and demands that NATO promise not to include Ukraine and other countries in NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 21 that Russia has no room for concession on the Ukrainian issue. The U.S. government says it is planning to impose strict export control measures on Russia.

At the same time, Russian-European relations have also continued to deteriorate. The Yamal-Europe pipeline from Russia to Germany changed its gas transmission direction on December 21, and the reduction of gas supply further increased the price of natural gas in Europe. Russia and Europe blamed each other on the Navalny incident, the political situation in Belarus and the immigration crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland. In this context, the German government suspended the qualification certification procedure of the "Beixi -2" natural gas operator, which made the completed natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany unable to be put into operation, in order to put pressure on Russia.

Less than a month later, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Biden will have another "meeting".

The White House announced on the 29th that President joseph robinette and Russian President Vladimir Putin will talk again on the 30th. The situation in Ukraine is expected to become an important topic of this call between the leaders of the two countries.

According to RIA Novosti, the White House said that the call was made by the Russian side. A senior American official revealed that Biden is convinced that "there is no substitute for direct dialogue between leaders, especially on the Russian issue."

As the tension between Russia and Ukraine continues to be "hot", this will be the second call between the two in December. Emily Hone, spokesman of the US National Security Council, said in a statement on the 29th that Biden and Putin will discuss a series of topics during the phone conversation on the 30th, including the upcoming US-Russia bilateral security dialogue and the tension in Europe.

In addition, the two heads of state will also discuss how to persuade Iran to return to the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement abandoned by the Trump administration. Despite the differences on Ukraine and other issues, White House officials said that they believe that the United States and Russia can cooperate on the Iranian nuclear issue.

On Ukraine: Russia and the United States have their own opinions

Biden and Putin held a video meeting on the 7 th of this month to discuss a number of issues including the situation in Ukraine.

In that video meeting, Biden warned that if Russia "invaded" Ukraine, it would face unprecedented consequences. Putin stressed that NATO’s eastward expansion and deployment of offensive weapons in Russia’s neighboring countries violated Russia’s "red line."

According to Reuters, Biden has been on the phone with many European leaders in recent days, and US government officials have also contacted NATO, the European Union, the OSCE and other relevant parties to coordinate their positions.

The United States and the European members of NATO have pointed out that Russia has recently assembled a large number of troops in the border area near Ukraine, waiting for an opportunity to "invade" Ukraine. The United States and its European allies threatened that once Russia took military action against Ukraine, they would cooperate to impose severe sanctions on Russia.

Russia identified NATO’s eastward expansion as a threat to Russia’s national security and demanded that the United States and NATO provide legally binding "security guarantees", including stopping eastward expansion and not deploying weapons that threaten Russia’s security in former Soviet republics such as Ukraine.

US: Prepare for diplomatic efforts.

A US government official revealed that Biden will emphasize to Putin during the call that the United States will unite with its allies, but will show its willingness to conduct "principled diplomacy" with Russia. If the situation worsens, the United States is ready to supply additional weapons to Ukraine. In order to prevent the situation from changing, US Defense Secretary Austin ordered the US "Truman" aircraft carrier to extend its stay in the Mediterranean on December 28.

A spokesman for the National Security Council said in a statement that the White House is ready for diplomatic efforts. "If Russia takes action against Ukraine, as an alliance, we will reach an agreement on the consequences that Russia will face. But we are also willing to conduct principled diplomacy with Russia. Russia can raise its own concerns, and we will also raise ours. We will make progress in some areas, but there are also differences in some areas. This is diplomacy. " This statement reads.

Earlier, White House national security adviser jack sullivan made it clear publicly that "the government is preparing to discuss Moscow’s concerns about NATO when meeting with Russian officials". "We are dealing with diplomatic issues with Russia from a broader perspective … … Of course, meaningful progress at the negotiating table must be made in the context of demotion rather than escalation. " Sullivan said at an event hosted by the American Council on Foreign Relations last month. He added, "If we continue to see an escalating cycle, it will be difficult to see an agreement reached."

Russia: The Ukrainian issue is comparable to the Cuban missile crisis.

On the Russian side, Kremlin spokesman dmitry Peskov also confirmed that the telephone conversation between Russian and American leaders was scheduled for the evening of 30th, but did not disclose more details.

Earlier, Putin insisted that the United States and its allies promise not to allow Ukraine to join NATO and prevent NATO from further eastward expansion, hoping that NATO would guarantee that it would not deploy troops or missile systems in Ukraine. However, the United States and NATO allies refused to provide commitments, but expressed their willingness to engage in dialogue.

As the tension between Russia, the United States and NATO on the Ukrainian issue continues, Russia and Ukraine have deployed a large number of military personnel and equipment in the border areas between the two countries. Ukraine, the United States and NATO claim that Russia is "invading" Uzbekistan. Some American intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia may be ready to fully "invade" Ukraine in early 2022. However, the Russian side denied it, stressing that NATO activities threatened the security of Russia’s border and that Russia had the right to mobilize troops in the territory to defend its territory. The Russian military said last weekend that about 10,000 soldiers had returned to their original posts after border training.

According to foreign media reports on December 27th, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov compared the confrontation between Russia and NATO countries on the Ukrainian issue with the "Cuban Missile Crisis" in 1962, when the tense confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union led the world to the brink of "nuclear war". Recently, when asked whether it is exaggerated to compare the current Ukrainian situation with the Cuban missile crisis, Ryabkov replied: "No, it is not too exaggerated."

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that the Russian side mentioned the "Cuban missile crisis" recently. Kiselev, president of "Russia Today", also warned on December 20 that once the West "crosses the red line", Russia will use force "100%". "Western countries should not repeat the Cuban missile crisis in the Ukrainian situation."

Related reports

Russia-US security consultation will be held in Geneva on January 10th next year.

On December 30th, local time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zacharova said that the talks between Russia and the United States on security issues will be held in Geneva on January 10th, 2022. The two delegations were headed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov and US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman.

In addition, on January 12 and 13, 2022, Russia will discuss security issues with relevant parties within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe respectively.

Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star Journalist Xu Huan Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency CCTV News