Biden, Putin hold video call on bilateral ties, Ukrainian crisis, Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday held a video call on a range of bilateral issues as well as the Ukrainian crisis and the Iran nuclear deal.

Biden "voiced the deep concerns" of the United States and its European allies about "Russia's escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation," the White House said in a readout after the meeting.

Biden "reiterated his support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy," the readout said.

"The two presidents tasked their teams to follow up, and the U.S. will do so in close coordination with allies and partners," it said.

The presidents also discussed the U.S.-Russia dialogue on Strategic Stability, a separate dialogue on ransomware, as well as joint work on regional issues such as Iran, said the readout.

The leaders mainly focused on the internal crisis in Ukraine during their second talks in six months, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin, using specific examples, explained to Biden "the destructive policy" of the Ukrainian authorities and expressed his "serious concern about Kiev's provocative actions against Donbass."

Putin stressed that it is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that is making dangerous attempts to "conquer Ukrainian territory" and is building up its military potential near the Russian borders.

Putin asked Biden for the guarantee that NATO will not expand in the eastern direction and not deploy offensive weapons near Russia.

To create conditions for mending bilateral ties, Putin offered Biden to lift all the accumulated restrictions on the functioning of Russian and U.S. diplomatic missions.

Biden and Putin held their first face-to-face meetings in a summit in Geneva in June and spoke via phone in July.