President Biden held a high-stakes hour-long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday, amid dire warnings from the United States for Americans to evacuate Ukraine over the fears of an imminent Russian invasion.
Biden pressed for a de-escalation of the border tensions and warned of “swift and severe costs” on Russia should it invade Ukraine, but the call ended with little change, according to the White House.
“The call between the two presidents was professional and substantive [and] it lasted a bit over an hour,” a senior administration official said after the call Saturday. “There was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks.”
Biden reiterated the consequences to Putin should it invade Ukraine and offered ideas for diplomatic solutions. Still, “it remains unclear whether Russia is interested in pursuing its goals diplomatically as opposed to through the use of force,” the official said, adding Russian military action in Ukraine is still “a distinct possibility. “
The secure call began at 11:04 a.m. from Camp David and ended at 12:06 p.m, according to the White House. The Russians proposed holding the call on Monday, but the Biden Administration wanted an earlier call as U.S. officials say there are increasing signs that Russia may launch a military invasion into neighboring Ukraine.
The White House says it’s preparing for both scenarios of ongoing diplomatic talks and an invasion.
“We’re also clear-eyed about the prospect of that given the readily apparent steps Russia is
taking on the ground in plain sight right before our eyes,” the senior administration official said Saturday. “The stakes of this are too high not to give Russia every chance to avoid an action that we believe would be catastrophic.”
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Earlier Saturday the State Department ordered non-emergency personnel at the Embassy in Kyiv to evacuate, hours after White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urged Americans to get out of the country.
“As we’ve said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time, should Vladimir Putin decide to order it,” Sullivan said at a White House news briefing.
Putin also got an earful earlier Saturday from French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with him in Moscow earlier in the week to try to resolve the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
A Kremlin summary of the call suggested that little progress was made toward cooling down the tensions, with the statement downplaying the border buildup as “provocative speculations regarding the allegedly planned Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine.”
Russia has massed well over 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border and has sent troops to exercises in neighboring Belarus, but denies that it intends to launch an offensive against Ukraine.
“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 White House said in a readout of the call. “President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing.”
Biden’s hour-long talk with Putin occurred after Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday.
Blinken again pressed Russia to choose a diplomatic solution to the situation, but that Russia would face a “resolute, massive, and united Transatlantic response” if it decides to invade Ukraine.
“The Secretary made clear that a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis remained open, but it would require Moscow to deescalate and engage in good-faith discussions,” spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Lavrov described the talk about Russian aggression as a Western “propaganda campaign” that “pursues provocative goals.”
A senior State Department official said Saturday that active conflict between Russia and Ukraine is “increasingly likely.”
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Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News he has “different information” than the U.S. on the possibility of a Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy has sought to downplay the imminence of a Russian invasion, saying that causing a panic “doesn’t help us.”
“The truth is we have different information,” Zelenskyy told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst. “And now the best friend for enemies is panic in our country. And all this information that helps only for panic doesn’t help us.”
“We have to be ready,” Zelenskyy explained. “Each day. And it began not yesterday. It began in 2014. So we’re ready. And that’s why we’re here. That’s why you see how are team work.”
Fox News’ Peter Aitken, Adam Shaw, Paul Conner as well as the Associated Press contributed to this report.
