Washington -

The White House statement issued by the summit that brought together US Presidents Joe Biden and Russian Vladimir Putin was similar to those issued before the summit, indicating the lack of progress in the Ukraine crisis, which has become a top contentious issue between the two countries.

At a time when experts agree that relations between the two countries have fallen to their lowest levels in decades, Presidents Putin and Biden's desire for cooperation has not moved their positions on the main points of contention between them.

The supposed summit came as the Western world became increasingly concerned about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite Russia's denials of plans to invade Ukraine, Washington cannot ignore the Russian military buildup along its western border with Ukraine, which exceeded 100,000 soldiers.

White House Statement and the Kremlin Statement

As expected, the statement issued by the White House after the summit ended, indicated that Biden "expressed the deep concerns of the United States and its European allies about Russia's military escalation in the border areas opposite Ukraine," and that "the United States and its allies will respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of a military escalation." ".

President Biden reiterated his support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.

As for the statement issued by the Kremlin, it stressed that the Russian president presented "compelling evidence of the destructive approach followed by Kiev, which aims to completely undermine the Minsk agreements and the agreements reached in the framework of the Normandy Quartet, expressing deep concern over Kiev's provocations in the Donbass."

The Kremlin statement indicated that Biden focused on the dangerous nature of Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian border, and outlined the sanctions that the United States and its allies would be ready to impose in the event of a further escalation.

In response, Putin stressed that "Russia should not be held responsible, because it is NATO that is taking dangerous steps and trying to spread on Ukrainian territory and reinforce its buildup on Russia's borders."

"Therefore, Moscow is eager to obtain written guarantees that NATO will not expand to the east and will not deploy striking weapons in countries bordering Russia," he added.


What did Biden want and what did Putin want?

Biden came to the summit to warn that the cost of any Russian invasion of Ukrainian lands would be high, and that this step would include imposing high-impact economic sanctions, in coordination with allies, in addition to strengthening the presence to support NATO allies in Eastern European countries.

At the same time, Putin came carrying a lot of Russian concern about the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, demanding strict guarantees from the United States and its allies that this would not happen, as Putin believes that NATO's expansion to the east and approaching the Russian borders is unacceptable.

Russia sees itself weak, especially from the west, where it was the source of all the historical threats it has been exposed to throughout its history, which came through Ukraine.

Putin reiterates that Moscow is only a few hundred miles from Ukraine's border, and therefore Ukraine cannot support its military relations with NATO.

During the meeting, Putin reiterated Russia's strong opposition to Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO, which Moscow describes as a "red line" that would lead to war.

no compromise

Maxim Samorukov, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, writes that Putin clearly reiterates his positions on Ukraine, asserting that he is "ready to go to war to get what he wants."

Samorokov refers to Putin's saying that he wants "an agreement that prevents Ukraine from joining NATO, and a Western promise not to deploy an advanced NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine."

"During the past year (2020), the Kremlin has had to send messages to the United States that Ukraine is an issue of paramount importance to Russia, that Russia's patience with the status quo is wearing out, and it is ready to take drastic measures to reverse the situation," Samorokov emphasized.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Andrew Lusin, an expert on Russian affairs at the Center for Policy and Strategy in Washington, confirmed that the Kremlin realizes that the military option will inflict heavy costs on Russia's economy and its international standing, but at the same time, "it wants to convince the United States of Russia's willingness to bear these costs because of Ukraine's importance to national interests." Russian".

US, European and NATO officials have warned Russia of any military aggression against Ukraine, telling Moscow that it would have serious political and economic consequences, which is already under international sanctions for its 2014 annexation of Crimea.


Brzezinski's prophecy

In early 1994, former US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski described a strong and stable Ukraine as a critical counterweight to Russia, and should be the focus of US strategy after the end of the Cold War. If Russia takes control of Ukraine, it can rebuild its empire.

Putin realizes that Ukraine is a knife in the hands of the West and the United States to contain Russia and its ambitions as a great power.

Since Ukraine is not a member of NATO, Washington and allied countries are not obligated to defend it.

As such, the extent to which the United States might go to protect Ukraine is uncertain even after the Biden-Putin summit ends.

Biden has said on several occasions that he wants a "more stable and predictable relationship with Russia."

Announcing the summit, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki made it clear that Biden's goal was not to bring about a dramatic shift in relations with Russia, but rather to "restore predictability and stability to US-Russia relations," and the summit appears to have failed in that end.