Kremlin Says President Agrees US Talks With Russia On Ukraine To Resume

(L-R) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/The Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden stated their opposing positions on Ukraine in a video call on Tuesday, although both also agreed that Russia and the United States should continue to talk, the Kremlin said.

"It's hard to expect a sudden breakthrough, but the presidents have shown their willingness to continue practical work and start discussing sensitive issues of serious concern to Moscow," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said after two hours of talks between the two countries' leaders.

Beyond an agreement to hold further discussions, there is no sign of a narrowing of positions in Moscow's reading of the conversation, which follows weeks of tension over the deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.

A Kremlin statement said President Putin repeated Moscow's accusations of Ukraine behaving provocatively and taking a "destructive line", aiming to dismantle treaties from 2014 and 2015 designed to end the war with Russia-backed separatists.

Meanwhile, President Biden outlined possible Western sanctions against Russia if the situation escalated, accusing Moscow of threatening actions. President Putin replied, "it's actually NATO that is making dangerous attempts to conquer Ukrainian territory and build up its military potential on our borders."

"Therefore, Russia is very interested in obtaining reliable and legally permanent guarantees that rule out NATO's eastward expansion and deployment of offensive attack weapons systems in countries adjacent to Russia," the Kremlin said.

It said the two leaders agreed to instruct their representatives to engage in "substantive consultations on this sensitive issue".

Russian authorities say NATO's growing relationship with Ukraine and the alliance's possible deployment of missiles targeted at Russia there are "red lines" that it will not be allowed to cross.

In addition, President Putin also told his US counterpart that he wanted assurances that offensive strike systems would not be deployed in countries close to Russia, the Kremlin said.

The talks came as the West voiced concern that Russia would invade Ukraine and warned of "strong economic and other measures" as punishment if Moscow started a military conflict.

The Kremlin, which said before Tuesday's meeting it did not expect a breakthrough, has denied harboring any intention to attack Ukraine and said its troops were in a defensive posture.

"Two hours showed me they had a substantive conversation. But they are far from agreeing on anything. But since it's not an easy matter, it's not a bad sign, as long as everyone keeps talking," said Olga Oliker, program director for Europe and Central Asia at the International Crisis Group.

The Kremlin said bilateral relations with Washington were in an "unsatisfactory state". It said President Putin proposed removing restrictions on the functioning of their respective embassies following a dispute in which each country has reduced the number of diplomats that other countries can deploy.

Both President Putin and President Biden underlined the need for efforts to normalize relations, continuing to cooperate on issues of common interest such as cyber security, Ushakov said.

He added that they had not discussed a proposal to meet in person in neutral territory, although they had previously discussed the idea.