Russia's Putin 'liked' video meeting format in Biden talk, says Kremlin

MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin liked the format of a recent video meeting with US President Joe Biden, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

"Actually, this format (video meeting) allows talking quite frankly. At least, President Putin liked this format," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Asked if Putin and Biden agreed on a date for a new meeting, Peskov said that at the moment "it is impossible to talk about such terms."

At the current stage, the appointed officials from both sides will meet to discuss the matters of strategic stability in Europe, Peskov said.

"It is not yet possible to say exactly when it will happen, but the presidents meant that it should take place very, very quickly," he noted.

The Russian and US presidents agreed at the video meeting held on Tuesday to appoint representatives who will address the confrontation between Russia and Europe.

According to a White House readout following the meeting, Biden conveyed to Putin his concerns about the "escalation" of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and warned of sanctions that the US and its allies would be ready to impose should the situation escalate any further.

In response, Putin warned against "shifting the responsibility" to Russia, underlining that it was NATO that was engaged in "dangerous attempts to gain a foothold on Ukrainian territory, and building up its military capabilities along the Russian border," said a separate statement by the Kremlin.

It added that Russia sought to obtain "reliable, legally binding guarantees ruling out the eventuality of NATO's eastward expansion and the deployment of offensive weapons systems in the countries neighboring Russia."

The two leaders agreed to instruct their representatives to engage in meaningful consultations on these sensitive matters.​​​​​​​