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.
In a statement, the White House said Biden stressed 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.”
“President Biden was clear that, if Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States 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…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
