Putin Warns Biden of ‘Complete Rupture’ of U.S.-Russia Relationship Over Ukraine

WASHINGTON — President Vladimir V. Putin warned President Biden connected Thursday that immoderate economical sanctions imposed connected Russia if it were to instrumentality caller subject enactment against Ukraine would effect successful a “complete rupture” of relations betwixt the 2 atomic superpowers, a Russian authoritative told reporters connected Thursday evening.

A 50-minute telephone telephone that Mr. Putin requested, and which some sides described arsenic businesslike, ended without clarity astir Mr. Putin’s intentions. He has massed 100,000 oregon truthful troops connected the borderline with Ukraine, and issued demands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United States to propulsion backmost their forces successful the region, but seemingly has not decided whether to bid an invasion.

Mr. Biden, for his part, “made wide that the United States and its allies and partners volition respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,” according to a terse White House relationship of the call.

American officials declined to sermon immoderate of the substance of the discussion, insisting that, dissimilar the Russians, they would not negociate successful public. But some sides appeared to beryllium trying to signifier the diplomatic scenery for talks that volition statesman successful Geneva connected Jan. 10, and past determination to Brussels and Vienna aboriginal successful the week successful sessions that volition see NATO allies and past Ukraine itself.

In Moscow, Yuri V. Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s overseas argumentation adviser, said the Russian president had conveyed Moscow’s anticipation that the upcoming talks would pb to “legally formulated guarantees of security” for Russia. He added that the speech had created a “positive background” for negotiations successful January, but that nary compromises had been reached.

The speech connected Thursday appeared to beryllium portion of the maneuvering for vantage arsenic the archetypal talks approach. Mr. Ushakov said Mr. Putin warned that harsh sanctions would beryllium a mistake, and that, arsenic Mr. Ushakov enactment it, “in this situation, it’s amended not to marque specified mistakes.” But helium besides said that Mr. Biden had observed much than erstwhile during the telephone that “it’s intolerable to win” a atomic warfare — thing Mr. Biden has often said successful public.

While the code of the telephone was constructive, according to the Kremlin aide, Mr. Putin repeated his claims that Russia felt threatened by an encroaching NATO. He said that Russia would “conduct itself arsenic the United States would behave if violative weapons were adjacent the United States.”

The Biden administration, similar the Trump medication earlier it, has provided hundreds of millions of dollars successful assistance to the Ukrainian subject to money what it characterizes arsenic purely antiaircraft arms, including anti-tank missiles to repel a threatened Russian invasion. Russia has called those violative weapons that endanger its ain forces.

An American official, briefing reporters connected the information of anonymity, said the telephone “set the benignant of code and tenor for the diplomatic engagements” to travel successful January. But helium declined to “get into the territory of starting to negociate successful public,” saying that “whatever the Russian broadside has decided is its champion maneuver and strategy successful presumption of its nationalist pronouncements, we truly believed, based connected past precedents, that it is astir constructive to person these conversations privately.”

Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin had radically antithetic objectives going into the call. By massing troops connected the borderline and past publishing two draught treaties that had echoes of Cold War-era demands, Mr. Putin created an planetary situation and made plain his tendency to upwind backmost the timepiece 30 years, to conscionable earlier the illness of the Soviet Union. He demanded that Ukraine halt its clasp of the West, that the United States and its allies halt each subject enactment successful Eastern Europe and Central Asia and that NATO frost its enlargement to the eastbound and rotation backmost subject deployments adjacent Russia’s borders.

In Washington and European capitals, astir of the projected pact connection was instantly rejected arsenic an effort to redraw the post-Cold War boundaries of Europe, and, with the menace of invasion, unit Ukraine backmost into Moscow’s orbit.

Yet contempt Russia’s damaged system and diminished capabilities, Mr. Putin is dealing from a beardown hand: He demonstrated successful 2014, with the annexation of Crimea, his willingness to prime disconnected Russian-speaking territory. And helium is assured that the United States and its NATO allies volition not perpetrate forces to the task of pushing back.

But each that was existent erstwhile the 2 leaders past spoke connected Dec. 3. So they entered the 2nd speech connected Thursday amid speculation that the Russian person was feeling retired Mr. Biden’s reddish lines up of the ceremonial circular of talks adjacent month.

A elder medication authoritative told reporters connected Wednesday that the United States appraisal was that Mr. Putin had not decided whether to invade Ukraine. But the Biden medication expected that Russia would person to marque that determination successful the adjacent month, successful the little model up of the outpouring thaw successful March oregon April that would marque it hard to rotation dense instrumentality into Ukraine.

Russia’s overseas minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, had aired concerns up of Thursday’s telephone that the United States mightiness take a maneuver of dragging retired the talks for arsenic agelong arsenic possible, tying up diplomats successful endless meetings adjacent arsenic it expressed willingness to engage. The U.S. has suggested a instrumentality to a lengthy diplomatic process.

But Mr. Lavrov said connected Monday that Russia should not beryllium near successful a concern wherever “our proposals are tied up successful endless discussions, which the West is celebrated for and which it knows however to do.” It is important, helium said, that, “there is simply a effect of each these diplomatic efforts.”

He said the Russian authorities remained skeptical that the United States and NATO would genuinely prosecute connected Mr. Putin’s demands. “We person superior doubts that the cardinal happening successful the proposals — the unconditional request for a halt to NATO’s eastward enlargement — won’t autumn by the wayside,” helium said successful the comments, carried by the Tass quality agency.

Russia’s demands are truthful sweeping that galore governmental analysts presumption them arsenic untenable, signifying either a bargaining spot for Russia oregon a justification for warfare erstwhile its demands are inevitably rejected. NATO instantly dismissed the cardinal stipulation to warrant a halt to admitting caller members.

Understand the Escalating Tensions Over Ukraine

While the demands are addressed to the United States and NATO, Russia’s subject menace is aimed astatine Ukraine. The United States has said Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops adjacent Ukraine’s borders, and that contempt calls for “de-escalation,” the Russians person shown nary signs of leaving and person alternatively inflamed the situation.

Still, American officials judge that Mr. Putin has not yet decided to bid the penetration — and whitethorn inactive beryllium convinced to backmost off. So they person made nationalist their plans for utmost economical sanctions if an penetration starts, portion signaling they are unfastened to diplomacy.

“A broader situation of the situation is Russia pointing a weapon astatine Ukraine’s caput portion asking the West to marque concessions,” said Samuel Charap, a Russian information expert astatine the RAND Corporation. “And that has been the dynamic here.”

Ukrainian officials person been softly searching for diplomatic openings of their own. The authorities successful Kyiv has been exploring whether negotiations for cease-fires and related information matters successful the long-simmering struggle with Russian-backed separatists successful eastbound Ukraine tin dial down the wider tensions, according to a elder U.S. authoritative who briefed journalists successful Washington earlier the statesmanlike telephone call.

“We person had precise bully discussions with the Ukrainian broadside successful presumption of short-term confidence-building measures they person enactment connected the array with the Russian side,” the authoritative said, speaking without attribution nether presumption acceptable by the Biden White House. “For determination to beryllium existent advancement successful these talks for america to get to a spot wherever we person information and stableness successful Europe, a discourse of de-escalation alternatively than escalation volition beryllium required.”

In an aboriginal motion of occurrence of the Ukrainian initiative, the Organization for Security and Cooperation successful Europe brokered a vacation cease-fire on the beforehand that held for respective days, though skirmishing on the eastbound Ukrainian trench enactment resumed recently. Discussions are underway for different specified gestures, including an speech of prisoners betwixt Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists.

At the aforesaid time, Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s nationalist information adviser, said successful a speech astatine the Council connected Foreign Relations that the travel of arms to Ukraine would continue, raising the imaginable outgo of an penetration and occupation. In conversations with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made wide that portion Russia mightiness win successful taking implicit parts of Ukraine, it would wage a immense quality outgo successful trying to inhabit it.

Mr. Putin, for his part, has made it known that helium sees providing arms to Ukraine arsenic a menace to Russia and that it indispensable stop.

“The administration’s successful a choky spot,” Mr. Charap said. “The Ukrainians are intelligibly making a batch of requests, and they person a batch of sympathetic ears connected the Hill and much broadly successful Washington. And there’s the question, if this is imminent, and there’s thing you tin bash to help, present is the time. On the different hand, we are asking Russia to de-escalate, and they would spot this arsenic escalatory.”