President of the United States (USA) Joe Biden warn Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation that his party would take decisive action if Russia continued to attack Ukraine.
In a statement quoted from AFPOn Wednesday, the White House said Biden stressed “while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios.”
“President Biden is clear that, should Russia carry out a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States together with our allies and partners will respond decisively and impose a swift and heavy cost on Russia,” the statement said.
The White House also said Biden had “reiterated” to Putin that attacking Ukraine “would result in widespread human suffering and detract from Russia’s standing.”
The two presidents spoke for more than an hour and appeared to have made no inroads in easing the deadlock between the West and Russia over the deployment of air, land and sea troops to besiege neighboring Ukraine on three sides.
The call was “professional and substantive,” a senior U.S. official told reporters. But “there has been no fundamental change in the dynamics that has taken place now for several weeks.”
The official said Washington had put forward a proposal that would “enhance European security and also address some of Russia’s expressed concerns,” while also pledging to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“It remains unclear whether Russia is interested in pursuing this goal diplomatically, rather than using force. We remain committed to keeping the prospect of de-escalation through diplomacy alive. Steps Russia is taking on the ground,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The stakes are too high not to give Russia every chance” to back down, the official said. “So, as usual, we continue on two paths.”
The senior US official said that “Russia is already finding itself increasingly isolated from the wider world and more dependent on China.”
Previously, Putin also had a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. Putin said allegations Moscow was planning to attack Ukraine were “provocative speculation” and could lead to conflict in the eastern European country.
(AFP / off)
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