The US and allies will respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of a military escalation on the border with Ukraine.
During an online summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden expressed deep concern of the United States and European allies over the buildup of Russian military forces that “surround Ukraine.”
This was reported by the press service White House.
As stated in the message, the American leader “made it clear that the United States and its allies will respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of a military escalation.”
During a conversation with the Russian leader, the US President reaffirmed his support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.
Both presidents instructed their teams to continue dialogue on the situation around Ukraine. As noted in the White House, the United States will do this in close coordination with allies and partners.
The presidents also discussed the dialogue between the United States and Russia on strategic stability, focusing separately on the topic of cybersecurity and protection against ransomware.
The White House press service also released a photo illustrating how seriously the Biden administration took negotiations with the Russian president. As can be seen in the picture posted on Twitter, a whole team, in particular Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, accompanied the American leader during the negotiations.
According to Russian media reports, Putin was alone in his office and used the button, summoning his assistants to if necessary.
As you know, the meeting of the leaders of the two countries was held behind closed doors for the media and was conducted by a secure line. During the talks, Biden was at the White House in Washington, Putin – at his residence in Sochi.
Recall that US President Joe Biden at the beginning of the online summit on December 7 with Russian President Vladimir Putin recalled the G20 summit, which the master of the Kremlin ignored.
