Russia: We have a Putin-Biden teleconference date, we are waiting for US approval

The Kremlin announced today that Russia and the United States have reached an interim date and time for the summit talks between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden to be held by teleconference in the coming days, but that Moscow is awaiting final approval from the Washington. The statement was made by Yuri Usakov, an adviser to the Russian president on foreign policy.

“We have the specific date and time of this video conference. But it is better to wait for the final approval of all the parameters from the American side and then we will be able to officially announce it. This meeting in the form of a video conference is being prepared quite actively. “, said Usakov.

Putin plans to raise the issue of legal guarantees with Biden, which would rule out further NATO expansion to the east and the development of weapons systems in Russia’s neighboring countries, including Ukraine, which are considered a threat to Russia, he said. Yuri Usakov.

“I think the Russian president will discuss this during the forthcoming talks with President Biden,” Ushakov said, noting that it was a “burning issue” and that “NATO military structures will not be promoted to the east, but it has been shown that these verbal assurances have no value, although these statements have been specifically recorded, there are recorded recordings of the respective talks.”

According to Usakov, the leaders of the two countries will discuss the results of the Geneva summit, “will talk about bilateral relations, international issues such as Afghanistan, Iran, the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Libya and possibly the Syria, depending on how the debate develops ”

Usakov also said the two leaders would discuss “the course of the dialogue on strategic stability issues” and “will certainly raise the issue of the implementation of our proposal to hold a summit of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.”

Ushakov did not rule out the possibility of Putin and Biden discussing the situation in the oil market as well as many other issues such as the pandemic, climate change.

“We are preparing this meeting with Olympic calm, we are not rushing the Americans, whenever it serves them, we are ready to do this meeting. And now we are close to agreeing on a time that will serve both sides,” Ushakov concluded.

The West will regret not being able to agree on security guarantees with Russia

The West will regret losing the opportunity to once again agree with Russia on guarantees of NATO non-expansion to the east, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday.

“We can not rely on the assurances of NATO Brussels, we see what is happening with unfounded promises. Over the years it comes up and down and what we gain is that the situation in Europe is deteriorating radically as a result of NATO expansion, NATO appropriation by “Heads of US territories that directly touch our borders,” Ryabkov said.

Russia’s foreign minister has said that this is why Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the foreign ministry to seek binding legal guarantees to prevent “further destruction of the security system in that form.” , which for the time being, can be maintained “. “If this is not achieved, our response measures, our countermeasures will be extremely harsh, and in the West they will regret, I would say, that they will once again lose the opportunity to agree with Russia on a sound basis,” Ryabkov said.

Speaking at a credentialing ceremony before the ambassadors of 20 countries, including NATO countries, the Russian president said on Wednesday that Moscow “in its dialogue with the United States and its allies” would seek to achieve some “specific agreements, which will exclude the further advance of NATO to the east”, as well as the installation in the immediate vicinity of Russian territory of weapons systems that Moscow considers to be a threat. At the same time, he said that Russia would need legal guarantees, “because the Western partners did not keep their verbal commitments.”