U.S. administration considering Biden-Putin call about Ukraine
The U.S. presidential administration is considering the possibility of holding a call between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin to discuss Russia's military build-up on the border of Ukraine.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this at a briefing on Friday, December 3, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
"As it relates to the potential for a call, we have been engaged in the possibility of that," Psaki said when asked by reporters whether the White House is considering such a call.
She said Biden preferred leader-to-leader diplomacy: "It certainly would be an opportunity to discuss our serious concerns about the bellicose rhetoric about the military buildup that we're seeing on the border of Ukraine."
She said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had discussed these issues with allies and partners in Europe. In addition, she said, the U.S. administration has also been consulting closely with Congress.
"We want to make sure that we are prepared. We know what President Putin has done in the past. We see that he is putting in place the capacity to take action in short order. And should he decide to invade, that is why we want to be prepared and — in an area we have expressed serious concern about," Psaki said.
U.S. President Joe Biden warned on December 3 that the United States was preparing a series of initiatives to make it more difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin to take military action in Ukraine.
