US President Joe Biden assured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during a telephone conversation Sunday that the United States and its allies "will react decisively" if Russia invades Ukraine.
"President Biden has made it clear that the United States and its allies must act decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine," said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the White House.
Mr Biden also emphasized Washington 's commitment at the outset that "nothing" would be decided "for you without you", referring to the need to include Kiev in Washington' s negotiations with Moscow on Ukraine 's future.
"We appreciate the unwavering support" of Ukraine from the US, was Mr. Zelensky's reaction via Twitter. He added that the two men referred to "actions taken jointly by Ukraine, the United States and their partners to maintain peace in Europe and to prevent the situation from deteriorating."
Russia and the United States will hold talks on Ukraine in Geneva on Sunday (January 9th) and Monday (January 10th). The two sides, to be represented by US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman and their Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov, will continue their contacts on Wednesday 12 January at the NATO-Russia Council, followed by the UN Security Council on Thursday 13 January. Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
On Friday, Joe Biden reiterated that he had warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against any invasion of Ukraine during a video conference earlier in the day. together with our NATO allies. "
"We were clear: it can not, I repeat, can invade Ukraine," Biden insisted.
This was the second meeting between the two heads of state in three weeks due to the escalation of tensions around Ukraine, with the mobilization of Russian troops on the eastern border of the now pro-Western former Soviet republic.
"Severe sanctions"
On Sunday, the US president also expressed his "support for confidence-building measures to de-escalate tensions in Donbass and for active diplomacy to promote the implementation of the Minsk agreements," according to Psaki.
Under the agreements reached under the auspices of France and Germany, Ukraine agreed to implement political reforms and Russia to end its support for pro-Russian separatist rebels.
Washington and its European allies accuse Moscow of threatening Ukraine with a new invasion of Crimea in 2014, and of waging war between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army that erupted in Donbas the same year. Some 100.000 Russian troops gathered around the eastern Ukrainian border.
On the other hand, for Moscow, Russia's security goes beyond the ban on NATO enlargement to the east, which it perceives as an existential threat, and the end of Western military activities near the Russian border.
According to the Kremlin, Mr. Putin "welcomed" the discussion he had with the US president on Thursday for about fifty minutes, while noting that imposing massive sanctions on Moscow due to the crisis in Ukraine would be a "colossal mistake."
President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kiev appreciates US "unwavering support"
Ukraine appreciates US "unwavering support" amid tensions with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter after a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden.
"We appreciate the unwavering support" of Ukraine on the part of the United States, the Ukrainian head of state said, adding that the two men discussed "the actions taken by Ukraine, the United States and their partners in maintaining peace in Europe and avoiding a deterioration of the situation. " He also spoke of a "special nature" relationship between Washington and Kiev.
Source: RES-EAP