Russia Invasion Of Ukraine: Putin Warns Biden Against Sanctions

Russian President, Vladimir Putin has warned United States President, Joe Biden that any sanctions over their military invasion of Ukraine would be a big mistake.

According to Aljazeera on Thursday, an aide said that the two leaders spoke on a phone call that lasted 50 minutes.

This came amid weeks of concerns over Russia’s deployment of tens of thousands of soldiers near its border with Ukraine.

Russia may be preparing for an imminent invasion of Ukraine and this was the second time Putin and Biden held direct talks this month over the issue.

The White House said in a statement on Thursday that Biden urged Putin to reduce its tensions in Ukraine and made clear that the United States will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.

Also, the United Kingdom warned Russia last week that any invasion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and would be met with sanctions on Russia’s interests and economy.

Earlier this month, the Russian government had demanded that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries. But the U.S. and its NATO allies have said only members of the alliance can decide when other nations join.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister declared this week that Russian diplomats would take part in talks with the U.S. on January 10. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which includes Russia and the U.S. will address the tensions the following day.

Earlier, Putin said Russia is not looking for war with Ukraine and demanded a response from the U.S. over security guarantees in the country.