In a telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden announced the readiness of Washington and his allies for a decisive response if Russia "invades Ukraine." This is stated in a written statement issued on Thursday by White House spokesman Jen Psaki, TASS reports.
"President Biden has called on Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine. "He has made it clear that the United States and its allies and partners will give a decisive response if Russia invades Ukraine in the future," she wrote.
The current telephone conversation was the second conversation between the two presidents in the last month. On December 7, Putin and Biden held a two-hour video conference. The predominant topic was the situation around Ukraine, and the leaders also discussed bilateral relations, cybersecurity and Iran's nuclear deal.
The initiative for the new conversation came from Putin. As Russian President Dmitry Peskov's spokesman told reporters earlier, the purpose of the talks is to continue discussing issues that were on the agenda of previous talks between the leaders, as well as the upcoming talks in January 2022. The representative of the National Council White House Security Secretary Emily Horn, meanwhile, said Biden expected to discuss a number of issues with Putin, including upcoming diplomatic contacts with the Russian Federation.
As Psaki noted, Biden expressed support for diplomatic contacts with the Russian Federation in the framework of the Strategic Stability Dialogue, as well as through the Russia-NATO Council and the OSCE. At the same time, he stressed that he believes that tangible progress is possible only in conditions of de-escalation of tensions.
"President Biden also expressed support for the diplomatic efforts that will begin early next year with a bilateral dialogue on strategic stability, within NATO through the Russia-NATO Council and within the OSCE," Psaki said.
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