WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) -President Joe Biden stated on Friday he instructed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin {that a} transfer on Ukraine will draw sanctions and an elevated U.S. presence in Europe, the place tensions are excessive after Russia’s army buildup on the border.
The U.S. and Russian leaders exchanged warnings over Ukraine in a 50-minute name on Thursday to handle Russian army actions.
“I made clear to President Putin that if he makes any extra strikes, if he goes into Ukraine, we could have extreme sanctions. We will improve our presence in Europe, with our NATO allies, and there will probably be a heavy worth to pay for it,” Biden instructed reporters as he left a Wilmington, Delaware, restaurant.
Biden says Putin agreed on “three main conferences” subsequent month with senior employees to assist discover a decision and stated he anticipated progress from these negotiations. However, he added, “I made it clear that it solely may work if he de-escalated.”
Asked if Moscow faces sanctions if it saved troops on the border, Biden stated, “I’m not going to barter right here in public however we made it clear that he can’t – emphasize can’t – transfer on Ukraine.”
Biden will converse with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday, a White home official stated earlier on Friday.
He will reaffirm help for Ukraine, focus on Russia’s army buildup and assessment preparations for diplomatic efforts to calm the state of affairs within the area, the official stated.
The Biden-Putin change set the stage for lower-level engagement between the nations that features the U.S.-Russia safety assembly on Jan. 9-10, adopted by a Russia-NATO session on Jan. 12, and a broader convention together with Moscow, Washington and different European nations on Jan. 13.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to put the groundwork for these talks on Friday in calls with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and others, the State Department stated.
In conversations with the overseas ministers of Canada and Italy, Blinken mentioned a united response to discourage additional Russian aggression towards Ukraine.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Grant McCool and Chris Reese)
