On 9 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden had talks. The central topic of the conversation was the discussion of the summit of the U.S. president and Kremlin head Vladimir Putin on 7 December.
The phone call was tentatively scheduled to take place at 19:30, but started with a slight delay. Around 10 p.m., the head of the presidential office, Andrei Yermak, reported that the phone call was over. According to him, the conversation lasted almost an hour and a half "in a very frank and direct atmosphere."
Biden reiterated statements he made at the White House on Dec. 7 that he had clearly warned Putin of the consequences if Ukraine escalated or invaded and threatened him with "unprecedented sanctions if that happened."
Biden stressed that Ukraine's decision to join NATO depends only on it and the members of the North Atlantic Alliance. The White House president promised Ukraine all necessary assistance to fight back in the event of a threat and congratulated the country on "significant progress on reforms.
Vladimir Zelensky also tweeted about the results of the talks.
"Wrapped up an hour and a half conversation with Joe Biden. The U.S. president briefed me on the contents of his talks with Vladimir Putin. We also discussed possible formats for resolving the conflict in Donbas. We touched on the progress of domestic reforms in Ukraine," the head of state informed the public.
Finished a 1.5-hour conversation with @POTUS. The President of the United States informed me of the content of his negotiations with Putin. We also discussed possible formats for resolving the conflict in Donbas and touched upon the course of internal reforms in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/boKzAdiyeU
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 9, 2021
The press service of the head of state noted that the presidents discussed ways to provide security, financial and political support to Ukraine in the fight against the ongoing hybrid aggression, and also touched upon the issue of our country's energy security.
"Vladimir Zelensky stressed that the Ukrainian side considers the Nord Stream-2 project exclusively through the prism of energy and security guarantees, and its promotion deprives Ukraine of an important factor in deterring Russian aggression," the presidential office reported.
According to Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Andrei Sibiga, information was also heard on December 9 that President Vladimir Zelenski is ready for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin .
"We hope that, in particular, with the support of our partners, this conversation will take place," said Andrei Sibiga.
Ukrainian issues were also raised during a press conference at the White House. Journalists were interested, in particular, in whether the U.S. administration had recommended Ukraine to cede territory for the sake of resolving the conflict with Russia. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki categorically denied this information.
