Russia's Kremlin: Talks between Putin and Biden were open and business-like

Russia's Kremlin said on Tuesday that the talks held between US President Joe Biden and Russia President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day were open and business-like, according to Reuters. The Kremlin said that Putin told Biden about Ukraine's destructive attitude towards settlement in Eastern Ukraine and that it was wrong to put all of the responsibility on Russia's shoulders for current tensions. According to the statement put out by the Kremlin, the Ukraine crisis was the prevailing topic for discussion during the talks and Putin expressed concerns about Kyiv's allegedly provocative actions towards the Ukrainian region controlled by Russia-backed separatists (the Donbas region). 

The Kremlin confirmed that Putin and Biden had agreed to continue contacts and have ordered subordinates to start consultations on "sensitive questions" around Ukraine. As expected, Putin told Biden he wanted reliable legally-binding guarantees ruling out any further Eastward expansion of NATO, as well as guarantees that offensive strike systems would not be deployed in countries close to Russia.