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Putin-Biden phone conversation won’t include public part, Kremlin spokesman says

The phone call is scheduled for 11:30 pm Moscow time on December 30

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Joe Biden of the United States will hold their upcoming conversation over the phone, and there will be no public part, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"This time, it is about a phone conversation, a regular phone call. Accordingly, there will be no public part," he explained.

The phone call is scheduled for 11:30 pm Moscow time on Thursday, Peskov added. "The phone call with Biden is planned to begin half an hour before midnight, at 11:30 pm," he specified.

When asked to explain why it had been decided to hold the call so late, Peskov noted: "The timing is okay given the [time zone] difference." "There is no problem, you know that the late hours have never been a problem for the Russian president, particularly because oftentimes, he continues to actively work this late at night," the spokesman said.

Peskov added that the upcoming conversation had been initiated by Putin. According to the Kremlin spokesman, the goal of the conversation "is very clear." "The goal is to continue discussing the issues that were on the agenda of their recent video call," he noted. "Besides, they will discuss a number of pressing issues related to the talks that will be held on January 10-12," Peskov specified.

It will be the second conversation between the two presidents this month. Putin and Biden held a two-hour video call on December 7, focusing on the situation around Ukraine. They also discussed bilateral relations, cybersecurity issues and the Iran nuclear deal.

Tags

Foreign policy Vladimir Putin United States Joseph Biden

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