WASHINGTON, United States — President Joe
Biden warned his Kremlin counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call Saturday of
“swift and severe costs” should Russia attack Ukraine, but the leaders’ call
apparently produced no easing of tensions.
اضافة اعلان
In a statement, the White House said Biden stressed
that “while the US remains prepared to
engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our allies and partners, we are
equally prepared for other scenarios.”
“President Biden was clear that, if Russia
undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the US together with our allies and
partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia,”
the statement said.
The White House also said Biden had “reiterated” to
Putin that attacking Ukraine “would produce widespread human suffering and
diminish Russia’s standing.”
The two presidents talked for just over an hour and
apparently made no breakthrough in defusing the standoff between the West and
Russia over the deployment of air, land, and sea forces to surround neighboring
Ukraine on three sides.
The call was “professional and substantive,” a
senior US official told reporters. But “there was no fundamental change in the
dynamics unfolding now for several weeks.”
The official said Washington had put forward
proposals that would “enhance European security and also address some of
Russia’s stated concerns,” while also vowing to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“It remains unclear whether Russia is interested in
pursuing these goals diplomatically, as opposed to using force. We remain
committed to keeping the prospect of de-escalation through diplomacy alive. But
we’re also clear-eyed about the prospect of that, given the readily apparent
steps Russia is taking on the ground,” the official said, speaking on condition
of anonymity.
“The stakes of this are too high not to give Russia
every chance” to stand down, the official said. “So, as always, we continue
along two paths.”
The senior US official said that “Russia is already finding
itself increasingly isolated from the wider world and more depending on China.”
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