Russian and U.S. state flags fly close to a factory in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, Russia March 27, 2019. REUTERS Anton Vaganov File Photo
MOSCOW, December 3, Reuters - The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia and the United States had a tentative date and time for a video summit between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden in the coming days, but Moscow was waiting for Washington to finalise it.
Putin plans to tell Biden about a proposal for security guarantees that would halt NATO's eastward expansion and end what Moscow describes as threatening weapons deployments to Russia's neighbours, including Ukraine, according to Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov.
There is now an urgent need to provide us with appropriate guarantees due to the tense situation. Ushakov told reporters at a briefing that it simply can't go on like this.
The United States, its NATO allies and Ukraine accuse Moscow of mass troops near the Ukrainian border, and Kyiv fears Russia is planning an attack. Moscow denies plans to invade Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of building up its own forces to attack territory held by pro-Russian separatists.
Russia has been pushing for top-level talks with the United States for weeks, and has floated the idea of seeking legally binding security guarantees from the West. Ushakov repeated Russia's denials that it is aggressive along the Ukrainian frontier.
It's nonsense, there is no escalation, said Ushakov. We have the right to move around troops on our own territory, but there is absolutely no escalation by us Ushakov said any talks with Biden would take place after Putin travels to India next week.
There is a time and a date for this video conference. I think it's better to wait for final agreement from the Americans. He said that this meeting in the format of a video conference is fairly actively prepared.
Putin and Biden could discuss the agreements they reached at their first summit in Geneva in June, Ushakov said. He said that the possibility of Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Syria, and strategic stability could also be raised.