Biden Works to Dissuade Putin From Invasion in Hour-Long Phone Call – By Elliott Davis Jr. (US News) / February 12, 222
A phone call between the two leaders comes as U.S. officials warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent.
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone Saturday, but it’s so far unclear if any progress was made amid increasingly dangerous tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border.
The call – which lasted a little over an hour, according to pool reports – was the first time the two leaders had spoken directly since December. Biden told the Russian leader that if his country invades Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies and partners “will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia,” according to a White House readout of the call. The move by the president is part of an increased urgency toward de-escalation by the administration, as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with their Russian counterparts on Saturday.
“President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing,” the White House readout notes. “President Biden was clear with President Putin that 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.”
