WASHINGTON, Mar 29Washington believes that new contacts between US and Russian Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin should be preceded by a de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine and a commitment to Russian diplomacy, said White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield. de-escalation, as well as a genuine and sincere commitment to diplomacy before the President (USA) has such contacts,» Bedingfield said during a briefing at the White House. Thus, she commented on the possibility of new contacts between the Russian Federation and the United States at the highest level. The White House representative also added that she did not intend to voice any preconditions for a conversation between the two leaders. The day before, the US president said that the possibility of his meeting with the Russian leader in the future would depend on what topics Putin intended to discuss with him. At the same time, he noted that the question is rather whether these new contacts will lead to the completion of Russia's special operation in Ukraine. that Russian forces near Kiev will regroup Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» To this end, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine» bloody crimes against civilians» of Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, they completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
