US President Joe Biden will hold phone talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later Saturday, US officials said, as diplomatic efforts to ease tensions over the Ukraine crisis continued.
A statement issued by the White House clarified that any Russian aggression against Ukraine would be met with a unified response from Western powers, saying that this would lead to a diminishing of Russia’s power and influence in the region.
The United States warns that Moscow has military forces ready to attack Ukraine “at any time”.
French President Emmanuel Macron is also scheduled to speak with Putin.
Several countries, including the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea, have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine for fear of a possible Russian attack.
The White House called on US citizens to leave Ukraine within 48 hours.
Despite this, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that the US administration does not yet know whether Putin has made the decision on the attack or not, but at the same time he indicated that the Russian government is looking for an excuse to justify its invasion of Ukraine.
“fake news”
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the US statement by accusing Western countries of spreading false news to distract attention from their hostile behavior.
Moscow also continues to deny that it has any plans to invade Ukraine, despite amassing more than 100,000 troops along the border with its neighbour.
The escalation of tension between Russia and Ukraine led to heavy losses for US stocks, closing at lower levels on Friday.
As Russia continues its military build-up along its border with Ukraine, the US administration has warned that it will not send troops to rescue Americans if Russian forces invade Ukraine.
Moscow has started massive military exercises jointly with its neighbor Belarus. Belarus is a close ally of Russia and has a long border with Ukraine.
The current tensions come eight years after Russia annexed Crimea, in southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian army has since been fighting a war with Russia-backed rebels in the eastern regions near the Russian border.
Moscow says it cannot accept that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic with deep social and cultural ties with Russia, could one day join NATO and demands guarantees that this will not happen.
Russia and Ukraine: What triggered the crisis?