Newsman: White House said , President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. would pursue “strong economic measures” and increase military aid to the region should Russia invade Ukraine.
Tuesday’s call was the first between Biden and Putin since July, who met in person at a summit in June. After the call, Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. to debrief them about the call, and he was to speak with congressional leaders later Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy before the call, and Biden will talk to Zelenskiy on Thursday.
In a two-hour video call, Biden called for a “de-escalation” and reiterated U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed several other issues, including nuclear security, ransomware and Iran.
Biden told Putin that in addition to sanctions, the U.S. would provide additional defense materials to Ukraine and build up military capabilities in nearby countries that also border Russia.
“He told President Putin directly that if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States and our European allies would respond with strong economic measures,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. “We would provide additional defensive material to the Ukrainians above and beyond that which we are already providing, and we would fortify our NATO allies on the eastern flank with additional capabilities in response to such an escalation.”
After Putin moved more than 90,000 troops to the Ukrainian border in recent weeks, administration officials have said that they believe Russia could engage in military action but that they are unclear whether a decision has been made.
Along with the military buildup, Russia has been significantly ramping up a misinformation campaign to make Ukraine appear to be the aggressor.
The White House says it will go further in countering Russian military aggression than it did in 2014.
“President Biden looked President Putin in the eye and told him today that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now,” Sullivan said. “Now, in terms of the specifics, we would prefer to communicate that directly to the Russians, to not negotiate in public, not telegraph our punches, but we are laying out to the Russians in some detail the types of measures that we have in mind.”
The Kremlin said in its summary of the call that Biden “emphasized the allegedly ‘threatening’ nature of the movements of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders” and outlined sanctions.
The Kremlin said Putin responded by alleging that NATO is trying “to conquer U the White House says it will go further in countering Russian military aggression than it did in 2014.
“President Biden looked President Putin in the eye and told him today that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now,” Sullivan said. “Now, in terms of the specifics, we would prefer to communicate that directly to the Russians, to not negotiate in public, not telegraph our punches, but we are laying out to the Russians in some detail the types of measures that we have in mind.”
The Kremlin said in its summary of the call that Biden “emphasized the allegedly ‘threatening’ nature of the movements of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders” and outlined sanctions.
The Kremlin said Putin responded by alleging that NATO is trying “to conquer Ukrainian territory” and building up its military own operations along Russia’s borders.
“Therefore, Russia is seriously interested in obtaining reliable, legally fixed guarantees excluding the expansion of NATO in the eastern direction and the deployment of offensive strike weapons systems in the states adjacent to Russia,” the Kremlin said.
Both Democrats and Republicans criticized Biden for his handling of Afghanistan, and his approval ratings declined.
As vice president, Biden was heavily involved in U.S. relations with Ukraine. At the time, Russia had invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.,
Putin has been a staunch critic of plans to admit Ukraine, seeing it as an aggression by the West. He has warned against any eastern expansion of NATO.
Foreign policy experts say the U.S. could cut off Russia’s access to the Swift banking system, which is used by the world’s major economies. Such sanctions could cause reverberating economic consequences around the globe.
The U.S. already has a military presence in the Balkan states bordering Russia, and it regularly conducts military exercises there.
