Putin, Biden face off on Ukraine tensions

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday saw Ukraine lodged firmly in the middle of a geopolitical chess match.

In their virtual summit, Putin told Biden that the NATO alliance was "making dangerous attempts to conquer Ukrainian territory" and "building up its military potential at our borders".

The Russian president was responding to a warning from Biden that the West would impose "strong economic and other measures" on Russia were it to invade Ukraine.

During their two-hour meeting, Putin told Biden that Russia shouldn't have to withdraw troops from its own territory when "they do not threaten anyone", Yury Ushakov, a Russian presidential aide said. "Putin said that you, the Americans, are worried about our battalions on Russian territory thousands of kilometers from the United States."

The sanctions threatened by the US, which one source told Reuters could target Russia's biggest banks and Moscow's ability to convert rubles into other currencies, are designed to dissuade Putin from using tens of thousands of troops gathered near the Ukrainian border.

On Tuesday, David Cortright, director of the Global Policy Initiative and professor emeritus at the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, wrote on The Conversation website: "For these or similar sanctions to be effective, the United States would need allies. Past US measures against Russia have often been unilateral and without the support or participation of other major states or the United Nations.

"Such unilateral sanctions are seldom successful. In an increasingly globalized world economy, unilateral sanctions face huge obstacles－even when imposed by the world's largest economy."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted the day before the call that "significant units and armaments from NATO countries, including American and British, are being moved closer to our borders", Russia's RT news website reported.

Irritation voiced

Moscow has voiced irritation over Western military aid to Ukraine and what it calls the creeping expansion of the trans-Atlantic security alliance.

The Kremlin said Putin told Biden he wanted legally binding guarantees against NATO expansion and complained about the alliance's attempts to "develop" Ukrainian territory.

Putin also called for guarantees that offensive weapons systems would not be deployed in countries near Russia, the Kremlin said.

For the Kremlin, the growing NATO embrace of Ukraine－and what it sees as the unacceptable prospect of alliance missiles in Ukraine－is a "red line" it will not allow to be crossed. Before the talks, Biden responded that he wouldn't accept anyone's red lines.

"Let him (Biden) try to cross them.… The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation remain in a state of military readiness and are ready to carry out any orders of our commander-in-chief," Andrei Kartapolov, the leader of the State Duma Committee on Defense, said on Russian television on Monday, adding: "Don't play with fire. Don't mess with us."

US officials have told members of Congress they have an understanding with Germany about shutting down the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine, a senior congressional aide said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, in an interview with The Daily Beast news website on Monday, said that the only way to deter Russia would be for NATO to help bolster Ukraine's military.

Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that it will launch an offensive against Ukraine. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has called the accusations "hysteria" fanned by the Anglophone and Ukrainian media, RT reported.

Just where the situation is heading is unclear, but the US may not be willing to escalate the situation in Eastern Europe beyond economic sanctions, particularly with stark political divisions and surging inflation domestically.

Agencies contributed to this story.