Biden vows US to act decisively if Russia invades Ukraine

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WILMINGTON, Del. – President Joe Biden conferred connected Sunday with Ukraine's person implicit the Russian unit buildup adjacent its border, promising that the U.S. and allies volition enactment “decisively” if Russia further invades the Eastern European nation.

Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's telephone came arsenic the U.S. and Western allies prepared for a bid of diplomatic meetings to effort to de-escalate a situation that Moscow said could rupture ties with Washington.

“President Biden made wide that the United States and its allies and partners volition respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,” White House property caput Jen Psaki said successful a connection pursuing the call.

Psaki added that Biden underscored his committedness to the rule of “nothing astir you without you," the tenet that it won’t negociate argumentation that impacts Europe without its allies’ input.

Biden has spoken of hitting Russia with economy-jarring sanctions if it moves connected Ukraine's territory, but helium said past period that U.S. subject enactment is not connected the table.

The Kremlin has demanded that immoderate further enlargement of NATO exclude Ukraine and different erstwhile Soviet countries. The Russians person besides demanded that the subject confederation region violative weaponry from countries successful the region.

The White House has dismissed Russia's demands connected NATO arsenic a non-starter. A cardinal rule of the NATO confederation is that rank is unfastened to immoderate qualifying country. And nary outsider has rank veto power. While there’s small imaginable that Ukraine would beryllium invited into the confederation anytime soon, the U.S. and its allies won’t regularisation it out.

Zelenskyy said successful a Twitter posting aft Sunday's telephone that “keeping bid successful Europe, preventing further escalation, reforms, deoligarchization were discussed.”

“We admit the unwavering support,” Zelenskyy said.

The United States has made small advancement successful efforts to transportation Russian President Vladimir Putin to easiness tensions. Senior U.S. and Russian officials are scheduled to conscionable Jan. 9-10 successful Geneva to sermon the situation. Those talks are to beryllium followed by meetings astatine the NATO-Russia Council, and astatine the Organization for Security and Cooperation successful Europe.

Biden spoke with Putin for astir an hr connected Thursday. He told reporters the adjacent time that helium warned Putin that his system would wage a “heavy price” if Russia, which has massed immoderate 100,000 troops adjacent the border, made further moves against Ukraine.

“I’m not going to negociate present successful public, but we made it wide that helium cannot — I stress cannot — determination connected Ukraine,” Biden said Friday.

Biden said helium told Putin it was important for the Russians to instrumentality steps earlier those meetings toward easing the crisis. Putin's overseas affairs adviser, successful describing the presidents' speech this past week, said Biden's pursuit of sanctions “could pb to a implicit rupture of relations betwixt our countries and Russia-West relations volition beryllium severely damaged.”

U.S. intelligence findings bespeak Russia has made preparations for a imaginable penetration successful aboriginal 2022. But White House officials accidental it remains unclear whether Putin has already made a determination to determination guardant with subject action.

Still, Biden said helium remained hopeful for the upcoming talks. White House officials accidental they volition consult intimately with Western allies.

"I ever expect if you negociate you marque progress, but we’ll see,” helium said Friday. ”We’ll see.”

Past subject incursions by Putin loom ample arsenic Biden weighs his adjacent steps.

In 2014, Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and seized the territory from Ukraine. Russia’s annexation of Crimea was 1 of the darker moments for President Barack Obama connected the planetary stage.

The U.S.-Russia narration was severely damaged adjacent the extremity of President George W. Bush’s medication aft Russia’s 2008 penetration of its neighbour Georgia aft Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered his troops into the breakaway portion of South Ossetia.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., president of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday helium feared that Putin was intent connected invading Ukraine and “nothing different than a level of sanctions that Russia has ne'er seen volition deter him.”

“Russia needs to recognize we are agreed successful this,” Schiff told “Face the Nation" connected CBS. ”I besides deliberation that a almighty deterrent is the knowing that if they bash invade, it is going to bring (NATO) person to Russia, not propulsion it farther away."

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Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau successful Kyiv contributed to this report.

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