Putin and Biden discussed Ukraine: US sanctions on Russia could sever ties between the two countries

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin warned each other yesterday that an escalation of tensions around Ukraine could damage relations between the two countries, said US and Russian officials.

This is the second conversation between the two presidents in the month of December.

"He made it clear that the United States and its allies and partners would respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Putin told Biden that any sanctions could sever ties between Russia and the United States and that it would be a big mistake, the Kremlin said.

However, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov stated that Russia was satisfied with their phone call, which he said focused on the security guarantees Moscow wants from the West amid the buildup of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border.

Ushakov said that Biden seemed to agree that Moscow needed such guarantees and that he seemed serious in the negotiations even though differences remained and the outline of a possible compromise was unclear for now.

Russia has alarmed Western countries by massing tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine in the last two months. Moscow denies planning an attack on Ukraine and says it has the right to move its troops on its own territory as it sees fit.

The United States has repeatedly warned Moscow that it would impose devastating sanctions if Russia launched a new attack on Ukraine, a threat that Ushakov said Biden reiterated on Thursday.

Ushakov stated that Putin told Biden that such a move could lead to a breakdown in US-Russian relations.

"Our president immediately responded (to the threat of sanctions) that if the West decides to impose unprecedented sanctions mentioned in these or other circumstances, it could lead to a complete collapse of ties between our countries and cause the most serious damage to Russia-West relations," Ushakov said, adding that Putin also mentioned that it would be a mistake that our descendants would see as a big mistake.

Moscow, concerned about what it calls Western rearmament of Ukraine, has stressed that it wants legally binding guarantees from NATO regarding its eastward expansion and the deployment of weapons.

Russia will hold talks on the guarantees it seeks with the US in Geneva on January 10, with NATO in Brussels on January 12, and under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna on January 13.

Ushakov said that Thursday's phone call created a good atmosphere ahead of these talks.

Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 and supported a pro-Russian separatist rebellion that same year in which Kyiv lost control of part of eastern Ukraine.

The conversation, according to US officials, lasted 50 minutes.