US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned each other that an escalation of tension over Ukraine could rupture relations between the two countries, US and Russian officials said.
But the two leaders appeared set to move forward with further diplomatic engagement following their second call this month.
“President Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tension with Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a readout of the 50-minute call, which had been requested by Russia.
“He made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.”
The conversation marked the fourth time the two leaders have spoken this year and comes before a January 10 US-Russia security meeting, followed by a Russia-Nato session on January 12, and a broader conference including Moscow, Washington and other European countries scheduled for the following day.
“President Biden reiterated that substantive progress in these dialogues can occur only in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation,” Ms Psaki said.
Mr Putin told Mr Biden that sanctions against Moscow could rupture ties between Russia and the US, the Kremlin said.
But Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters Russia was satisfied with the conversation, which he said centred on security guarantees Moscow is seeking from the West amid a build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border.
Mr Ushakov said Mr Biden appeared to agree that Moscow needed such guarantees and seemed serious about negotiations, even if differences remained.
A senior US official meanwhile told reporters the tone of the conversation was “serious and substantive".
“They each framed their positions as they've done in previous calls and also as they have done publicly,” the official said, noting that Mr Biden had outlined two tracks to Mr Putin on Ukraine.
“One is a path of diplomacy leading to de-escalation of the situation. The other path is more focused on deterrence, including serious costs and consequences.”
Moscow has alarmed the West by massing tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine over the past two months following its seizure of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014 and its backing of separatists fighting in the eastern part of the country.
Russia denies planning to attack Ukraine and says it has the right to move its troops on its own soil as it likes.
The senior US official would not say whether the US believes Mr Putin has made the decision to invade.
On Wednesday, a different senior US official said Mr Biden will “make clear when he speaks with President Putin that we are prepared for diplomacy … but we are also prepared to respond if Russia advances with a further invasion of Ukraine”.
The official added that Washington is seeking a reduction in Russian troops on the border.
CNN reported that the US Air Force had flown another spy plane over eastern Ukraine on Thursday to gather intelligence on the Russian military situation. This was the second such flight carried out by the Pentagon this week.
Moscow, worried by what it says is the West's rearming of Ukraine, has said it wants legally binding guarantees Nato will not expand further eastward and that certain offensive weapons will not be sent to Ukraine or other neighbouring countries.
Other US officials said that despite a report at the weekend that Russia would be pulling back about 10,000 troops from its border with Ukraine, they had seen little evidence to support that so far.
“We are at a moment of crisis and have been for some weeks now given the Russian build-up, and it will take a high level of engagement to address this and to find a path of de-escalation,” said one of the US officials, who declined to be named.
US authorities have told Moscow they will take swift economic action against Russia and reinforce Nato in case of an invasion. But Mr Biden has been pushing direct diplomacy as an alternative.
Mr Putin has compared the current tension to the Cold War-era Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Washington regards some of his demands, including restrictions on Nato expansion, as non-starters.
Agencies contributed to this report
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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Tomorrow 2021
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Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
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Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
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COMPANY PROFILE
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
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5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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Plastic tipping points
Plastic tipping point
Tomorrow 2021
Plastic tipping points
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
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Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
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Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
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LILO & STITCH
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Engine: Duel electric motors
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Torque: 1075Nm
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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Company%20profile
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
