U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the UK to debrief them on his virtual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that was held on Tuesday.
Biden held a secure video call with Putin where he reiterated America’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that Biden told President Putin directly that if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States and their European allies would respond with strong economic measures.
"We would provide additional defensive materiel to the Ukrainians above and beyond that which we are already providing," Sullivan said.
In their conversation, Biden told President Putin that there’s another option which can be de-escalation and diplomacy.
"We managed to do this at the height of the Cold War, and we developed mechanisms to help reduce instability and increase transparency," Sullivan affirmed.
"We believe, from the beginning of this administration, that there is no substitute for direct dialogue between leaders, and that is true in spades when it comes to the U.S.-Russia relationship. So President Biden welcomed the opportunity to engage clearly and directly with President Putin," he added.
President Biden has previously said after his meeting in Geneva with President Putin, “Where we have differences, I want President Putin to understand why I say what I say and why I do what I do, and how we’ll respond to specific kinds of actions that harm America’s interests” and indeed harm our allies’ interests.
In the same vein, the advisor mentioned that Biden will be speaking with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, following a discussion between Zelenskyy and Secretary Antony Blinken.
Lastly, he asserted that both leaders agreed that their teams will follow up on the issues discussed during the call.
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