Biden has told Ukraine that the US will “respond decisively” if Russia invades more by Reuters

By Jarrett Renshaw

WILMINGTON /, De. (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden on Sunday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the US and its allies would respond “decisively” if Russia invades Ukraine further, the White House said in a statement.

The call came after a second interview with Biden https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/biden-speak-with-ukraine-president-sunday-white-house-2021-12-31 a month with Russian Vladimir Putin Among the tensions between Russia is its border with Ukraine, where Russia has deployed about 100,000 troops.

“President Biden has made it clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia invades Ukraine further,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement after the call.

Biden and Zelensky discussed preparations for a forthcoming diplomatic meeting to deal with the crisis, according to the White House.

Zelenskiy said on Twitter (NYSE 🙂 that joint actions to maintain peace in Europe and prevent further escalation have been discussed.

“The first international conference of the year with @POTUS demonstrates the unique nature of our relationship,” Zelensky said in a tweet. He said that in order to maintain peace in Ukraine, the United States and Europe, to prevent further escalation, reforms and de-oligarchizations were discussed. We appreciate the continued support of Ukraine.

Representatives of the United States and Russia will hold talks in Geneva from January 9 to 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council and the European Security and Cooperation Organization.

Biden told Putin that it was important for the Russians to take steps to alleviate the crisis before these meetings.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser told reporters last week that Putin had warned Biden that the sanctions could “severely disrupt foreign relations and severely damage relations between Russia and the West.”

Kremlin officials have stressed that any future NATO enlargement wants guarantees that Ukraine and other former Soviet countries must be excluded. The Russians have demanded that military alliances remove weapons of attack from countries in the region.

Biden expressed his support for diplomatic measures to ease tensions, reaffirming “the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said.