Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov has revealed details of the conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden shortly after the phone talks concluded on Saturday evening.
Speaking to reporters during a media briefing, Ushakov revealed that the talks were staged on Washington’s request with the US citing fears of an allegedly imminent ‘invasion’ of Ukraine by Russia. The Putin-Biden talks were originally scheduled to take place on Monday, the official added.
“The conversation came amid an atmosphere of unprecedented hysteria by US officials over Russia’s supposedly imminent ‘invasion’ of Ukraine,” Ushakov stated.
Putin has criticized Western efforts to militarize and “pump” Ukraine full of modern weaponry, and such policies effectively encourage Kiev to try and resolve the conflict in the country’s east by force, Ushakov noted.