During a 50-minute telephone conversation, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin threatened each other and at the same time expressed their willingness to establish a dialogue, as the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describes. The two heads of state warned of the possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

During a phone call on Thursday, US President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against trying to invade Ukraine. He declared that “otherwise the United States and its allies will respond decisively,” and Russia must “relax,” according to the FAZ, citing the White House.

In turn, according to the Kremlin, Putin should have warned Biden against imposing severe sanctions on Russia. “It would be a huge mistake,” Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, commented after the phone call. Ushakov added that “the talks between representatives of the two countries scheduled for January on the security guarantees demanded by Moscow should produce results.”

“It was actually the second phone call between the presidents of the United States and Russia in a month,” FAZ confirms. This is happening against the background of tensions related to the massive deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. The Zairean armed forces add: “The West is afraid that Russia will attack neighboring Ukraine. The government in Moscow denies any plans to attack, and also accuses Kiev and NATO of provocations.”

Russia demands the West for a security guarantee and has proposed two agreements with the United States and NATO to ban the expansion of the military alliance to the east and the establishment of US military bases in the countries of the former Soviet sphere of influence. NATO members rejected such far-reaching demands.”

During the conversation on Thursday, Biden emphasized current US policy. “President Biden has made it clear that the United States will continue to provide defensive security for Ukraine,” Die Welt newspaper reported.

Biden and Putin met for the last time in Geneva in June, and the last video interview was on December 7. Representatives of the United States and Russia plan to hold a meeting on January 10 in Geneva to discuss the conflict in Ukraine there. Talks between Russia and NATO are scheduled two days later, and consultations between Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are scheduled for January 13.