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U.S. President Joe Biden
Biden to hold another call with Putin today
U.S. President Joe Biden will hold another phone call with Vladimir Putin today at the request of the Russian side, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
The two leaders will "discuss a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia," National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement.
"The Biden Administration continues to engage in extensive diplomacy with our European Allies and partners, consulting and coordinating on a common approach in response to Russia’s military build-up on the border with Ukraine," the White House said.
Moscow "has put its concerns on the table and we are prepared to discuss them" - a Senior Biden Administration Official told reporters on a phone briefing, "The United States and our allies and partners will put our concerns on the table and expect Russia to be prepared to discuss them as well. "
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to a State Department readout of that call, “the two discussed efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine and upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia.” Blinken also spoke with French, German, and UK Foreign Ministers ahead of today's call. "They reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” according to the State Department.
Officials from Washington and Moscow are scheduled to speak on Jan. 10 regarding Moscow's security demands, which were laid out earlier this month.
That meeting will be followed by a Jan. 12 dialogue of the NATO-Russia council and a Jan. 13 discussion of the OSCE Permanent Council. Biden and Putin are not expected to directly participate in those talks, which will be led by the State Department and include representatives from the National Security Council and Department of Defense, the Senior Administration Official said.
Washington is "prepared" to provide Ukraine with further assistance to defend its territory and respond to a potential Russian occupation should a further invasion proceed in the coming weeks. Yet, the official said, President Biden will make clear that there is a diplomatic path to de-escalating tensions in the region if Putin "is interested in taking it."
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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