Putin warns Biden about 'complete breakdown' in Russo-American ties
Russia's President Vladimir Putin warns his American counterpart Joe Biden that any new sanctions against Moscow could totally upset the Russo-American relations.
Putin made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Biden on Thursday after the US president reiterated the West's allegations that Russia could "invade" Ukraine, claiming that Washington would impose "devastating" sanctions on Moscow in the event of such incursion, Reuters reported, citing Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.
"Our president immediately responded [to the sanctions threat] that if the West decides in this or other circumstances to impose these unprecedented sanctions, which have been mentioned, then that could lead to a complete breakdown in ties between our countries," Ushakov said.
Such coercive economic bans would also work to "cause the most serious damage to relations between Russia and the West," the aide noted.
The US and its Western allies have cited a Russian military buildup along Ukraine's border for their claims against Russia. Moscow denies harboring any intention of "invading" Ukraine, besides emphasizing that it can move its troops around within its own borders as it sees fit.
The Western allies imposed economic sanctions on Russia in 2014 after the Ukrainian territory of Crimea voted in a referendum to fall under Russian sovereignty. The US and the European Union-backed Kiev refused to recognize the referendum's results.
Ukraine, the EU, and the US also claim that Russia has a hand in an ongoing conflict that erupted in the Donbass region of Ukraine between government forces and ethnic Russians in the same year.
The West imposed more sanctions on Russia after accusing it of interfering in the conflict. Moscow likewise denies the allegation.
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