US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during today’s two-hour virtual meeting of a “strong” economic response to the attack on Ukraine.
“President Biden expressed the deep concern of the United States and our European allies over the concentration of Russian forces around Ukraine and made it clear that the United States and our allies will respond with decisive economic and other measures in the event of a military escalation.”
Biden also stressed “support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and called for “de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.”
According to the White House, Biden and Putin instructed their teams to work out the development of the discussed topics. It is emphasized that the next step of the United States will be “in close coordination with allies and partners.”
During the meeting, Biden and Putin also discussed bilateral dialogue on strategic stability, cybersecurity and cyber attacks, and joint work on regional issues such as Iran.