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Biden said US, allies will respond strongly if Russia ‘invades Ukraine’ - White House

President Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine, Jen Psaki said

US President Joe Biden EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

US President Joe Biden

© EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

WASHINGTON, December 31. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden in a call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Washington and its allies were ready to respond strongly if Russia "invades Ukraine," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Thursday.

"President Biden urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine," the statement said. "He made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine."

This was the second time this month that the presidents held talks. The previous conversation took place by video link on December 7, with topics including Ukraine, bilateral relations, cybersecurity and Iran’s nuclear deal.

The latest talks were requested by Putin. The aim was to continue discussions started during the previous talks and to discuss the negotiations scheduled for January, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

There has been a flurry of statements in the West and Kiev lately that Russia could invade Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry 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.

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