US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that a date is being set for a video conference between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden where the latter will declare Washington’s desire to have more stable relations.
“I think when they speak, the President will lay out … our strong desire for greater predictability and stability in the relationship,” he said according to TASS. He added that he expects the conversation will take place “in the very near future.”
“There’s no substitute for direct conversation, communication between officials,… but especially between President Biden and President Putin. President Putin is the decision maker in Russia, and it’s very important that he hear directly from President Biden,” Blinken continued.
According to TASS Blinken said that Biden would “stand up resolutely against any reckless or aggressive actions that Russia may pursue."]
“In the case of Ukraine, if Russia decides to pursue a confrontation course, if it renews its aggression, there will be very serious consequences, and not just from us but from other countries as well in Europe,” he said during the Reuters Next online forum.
Dispite this Blinken said NATO was a “defensive alliance.”
“I think the most important thing that President Putin seems to discount or ignore is that NATO is a defensive alliance. It’s a transparent alliance,” he said, commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s earlier remarks that Moscow will view as red lines the deployment of missile strike systems, hypersonic missiles, and MK-41 launchers in Ukraine.
“It is not an alliance aimed at Russia. It’s not an alliance that is going to commit acts of aggression against Russia,” he continued. “The only aggression that we’ve seen in this space in recent years, unfortunately, has been from Russia - first Georgia and then Ukraine. So I think this is a very misplaced way of looking at things.”
He then said Moscow’s actions “have precipitated NATO shoring up its own defenses and its own defenses closer to Russia - exactly what President Putin says he wants to prevent.”
