Call that failed: Biden-Putin talks deadlocked

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to appoint envoys to continue talks on security in Europe in light of escalating tensions over Russia’s massing tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine, but the Kremlin said Wednesday it was unclear when the talks would happen.

Biden and Putin spoke for over two hours during a video call on Tuesday. The conversation seemed to have yielded little progress on Ukraine and the Russian troop buildup apart from the two leaders agreeing to name envoys to keep the discussion going. The presidents meant that it should happen rather promptly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question about the next steps for Washington and Moscow after the much-anticipated call between Putin and Biden.

Biden delivered a simple message to during his call with Putin: invade Ukraine again and face painful sanctions that will do resounding harm to your economy. Putin had his own blunt take, according to foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, and told the U.S. president that “the Russian troops are on their own territory, and they don’t threaten anyone.” With no immediat e breakthrough to ease tensions on the Ukraine question, the U.S. emphasized a need for diplomacy and de-escalation, while issuing stern threats to Russia about the high costs of a military incursion. White House officials made clear that Biden is not interested in putting U.S. troops in harm’s way defending Ukraine, but could lead to additional deployments of U.S. troops to eastern European NATO allies. –(AP)