WASHINGTON, December 7. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the US and its allies would hit Russia with economic and other measures in the event of military escalation against Ukraine and called for a return to diplomacy, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.
"President Biden voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European allies about Russia’s escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation," the statement said. Biden "called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy," the White House said.
"The two presidents tasked their teams to follow up, and the U.S. will do so in close coordination with allies and partners," the statement went on to say.
Putin and Biden "also discussed the U.S.-Russia dialogue on strategic stability, a separate dialogue on ransomware, as well as joint work on regional issues such as Iran," according to the White House.
The Russian and US presidents held a video call that lasted slightly more than two hours on Tuesday.
There has been a flurry of statements in the West and Kiev lately that Russia could invade Ukraine. Peskov said they were unsubstantiated escalation and that Russia doesn’t threaten anyone. At the same time, he didn’t rule out provocations to corroborate these Western statements and warned that the use of force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine will have serious consequences.