There is no contact between the US and Russia, Putin’s spokesman has revealed
Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, U.S.-Russia summit, June 16, 2021, Geneva, Switzerland. © Getty Images / Pool
There is currently no contact between Russia and the US, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, amid Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.
The presidents of the two countries, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, last spoke on February 12 – almost two weeks before the launch of Moscow’s offensive. Since then, Russia has become the most sanctioned country in the world due to an array of restrictions imposed by the US and its allies.
Responding to RIA Novosti’s question on whether there is any contact between the Russian and US governments, Peskov said: “We can say that no, not now. Now all contacts are virtually absent.”
On Wednesday, the ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Grigory Mashkov, said that while it had already been difficult to work with the US before February 24, after the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, “the possibilities for compromises were reduced, if not to zero, then to a minimum.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday that Washington’s arming of Ukraine with heavier weapons increases the risk of direct US-Russia confrontation, regardless of America’s statements about mitigating the risks.
In the last three months, Biden has accused Putin of “genocide,” calling him a “war criminal.” Moscow has accused the US of fueling the conflict in Ukraine and inciting Russophobia around the world.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
