The main topic of the 50-minute exchange was the implementation of the agreement that the two leaders made during the video conference on December 7.
Putin pointed out that the result of the joint work of Moscow, Washington and NATO should be the establishment of certain guarantees. (Photo: PL)
The phone conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, respectively, was mutually beneficial, according to a December 31 statement by the Kremlin press service.
“In general, the conversation was frank, professional and of course mutually beneficial. It was agreed to continue regular contacts at the highest level,” according to the document, referring to the dialogue that took place last night and concluded this morning (local time).
The memo states that the main topic of the 50-minute exchange was the implementation of the agreement that the two leaders made during a video conference on December 7, to begin negotiations on providing legal guarantees for Russia’s security.
Putin indicated that the result of the joint work of Moscow, Washington and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should be the establishment of certain guarantees.
This should rule out the possibility of NATO advancing further east and deploying weapons systems in the immediate vicinity of the Eurasian state border.
This Friday was the second conversation between the two heads of state this month. In the first, which lasted two hours, they discussed the situation in Ukraine, bilateral relations, cyber security and the Iran nuclear deal.
On this occasion, the initiative for dialogue came from the Russian President with the aim of continuing to discuss the issues previously discussed and to amend the details about the contacts that the two countries will conduct next January.
As planned, on January 10 in the Swiss city of Geneva, delegations from Russia and the United States will negotiate the security commitments requested by Moscow.
On January 12, a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council will be held in Brussels, Belgium, and on January 13, talks between representatives of Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will take place in Vienna, Austria.
On December 17, the State Department released the content of two drafts with proposals for agreements on legal security guarantees for both parties, which Moscow handed two days earlier to the US Under Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Karen Donfried.
Following Friday’s conversation, the Russian president’s adviser on international affairs, Yury Ushakov, indicated that the leaders had indicated their interest in continuing the dialogue after the new year if the progress of negotiations required it.
He commented that in addition to the Geneva consultations, Putin and Biden would “continue to negotiate in other ways” and, when necessary, would communicate with each other and give instructions to their negotiating teams.
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