[ad_1]
The danger of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine still exists, after the only hope left is the conversation between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
“Russia will face heavy and rapid costs if it invades Ukraine”the American president is said to have said to his Russian counterpart, during the telephone conversation.
The White House has released details of a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Putin that lasted just over an hour.
The White House said Biden ““It was clear that if Russia undertook a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States, together with its allies and partners, would respond decisively and impose swift and heavy costs on Russia.”
The senior administration official said the phone call had no substantial change in the dynamics that has been unfolding for several weeks now.
“President Biden reiterated that a further Russian occupation of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s position.”according to the White House.
Biden was clear with Putin that the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with allies and partners for other scenarios.
“The two presidents agreed that the teams will remain engaged in the coming days. Russia may decide to proceed with military action anyway. We remain committed to keeping alive the prospect of de-escalation through diplomacy. But we are also clear about the prospects for this, given the apparent steps Russia is taking on the ground in plain sight. The shares of this are too high to not give Russia any chance to avoid an action we believe would be catastrophic. “As always, we continue on two paths.”said the American official.
The official said Biden reiterated US ideas for steps to boost European security and address some of Russia’s security concerns, but noted that “it remains unclear whether Russia is interested in pursuing its goals diplomatically.” .
Asked if Russia had made a decision to invade, the official said: “I think the honest answer to this question is that we are not clear in President Putin’s decision-making.”
“But you know, we do not base our assessment of this on what the Russians say publicly,” the official continued. “We are basing his assessment on what we are seeing on the ground… which is an ongoing Russian accumulation on the border with Ukraine and no meaningful evidence of de-escalation, or really of any interest in de-escalation.”
The official said the US will continue and even increase its support for Ukraine to help it defend itself if Russia continues to escalate its aggression.
“As for our plans to move forward, I think President Biden and other officials have been clear that if Russia continues on the path of escalation, the United States will continue to increase our support for Ukraine to enable it. protect her and you. know, this approach has not changed“, Said the official.
The US State Department ordered most of its embassy staff to leave Ukraine, adding to calls Friday for civilians to leave the country within 48 hours. The Pentagon said it was withdrawing about 150 military trainers from the country.
The concentration of Russian military forces near the Ukrainian border and an increase in military activity there has fueled fears that Russia could invade the country, although the latter has denied having such a plan.
French President Emmanuel Macron had earlier called Russian leader Vladimir Putin, telling him that the “sincere negotiations” were incompatible and inconsistent with the actions they were taking to increase tensions over Ukraine.
According to a French presidency official, Biden and Macron will speak after their separate phone calls with Putin. The same source stated that there was no evidence from what Putin told Macron and that it is not yet known whether Russia is preparing an offensive against Ukraine.
“We are extremely vigilant towards the Russian military stance to avoid the worst“, Said the official.
Washington said on Friday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could begin at any moment and could launch another air strike.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link