Biden warns Putin against any invasion of Ukraine

The US president has told his Russian counterpart that any military escalation would be meet with strong measures.

Joe Biden talks to Vladimir Putin in the White House Situation Room. Picture: AFP

President Joe Biden has threatened Russia with “strong measures” if it tries to invade Ukraine or compromise the former Soviet bloc nation’s sovereignty, in a bid to defuse the growing risk of war that could embroil Europe and the US.

In a video call that lasted more than two hours, Mr Biden told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of his “deep concerns” about Russia’s military build-up along the Ukraine border, which recent US intelligence reports said could include as many as 175,000 troops.

The president said the US, along with its major European allies, would “respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation”, the White House said, the latest in a series of warnings to the Russian leaders from the US and its allies.

“President Biden reiterated his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy,” the White House said after the call.

The two Cold War superpowers have been at loggerheads over Russian military provocations in eastern Ukraine since early 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in defiance of NATO members, and the US in particular.

“The things we did not do in 2014 — we are prepared to do now,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said after the call, adding “there was “a lot of give and take… no finger wagging, but the president was crystal clear about where the United States stands on all of these issues”.

Russia has increased its military presence on the border with Ukraine since, stoking fears it planned to invade, drawing a rebuke from President Joe Biden in April, ahead of a warning by the G7 in June, and then a one-on-one between the two leaders in Switzerland in the same month, which appeared to resolve little.

“We remain firmly of the view that Russia is a party to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, not a mediator,” the G7 said at the time.

CIA Director William Burns, speaking on Monday to The Wall Street Journal, said US intelligence agencies hadn’t decided whether Mr Putin would invade. The Russian leader was assembling a military force that “could act in a very sweeping way,” he said, and may see an opportunity to do so this winter.

The call between the two leaders started amicably, from the limited video released to the public, Mr Biden raising his hands in a welcoming gesture to tell a largely expressional Mr Putin that was “good to see” him again.

“Unfortunately we didn’t get to see one another at the G20… I hope next time we meet we do it in person,” Mr Biden said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes the call at his home in Sochi. Picture: AFP

Reflecting the tense atmosphere, Mr Biden was shown in an official photograph sitting behind closed doors with the secretary of state and national security advisor in the White House’s Situation Room. Mr Putin, at his resort residence in Sochi, was pictured alone at a long table in front of the video screen.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said before the talks between the two leaders began, that the Russian president would be “ready to convey his concerns to his American colleague, listen to the concerns of his American colleague and give him an explanation.”

The Kremlin later said the talks were “frank and business-like”.

Mr Biden later phoned the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the UK, who promised to “stay in close touch” with the US to co-ordinate their response to any Russian aggression, according to the White House.

Asked after the call how Mr Biden would know if his latest warning had been successful, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it would depend on whether Russia invaded.

“We will know if Russia and President Putin decides to invade Ukraine. I don‘t think that will be a secret,” she said.

Pavel Sharikov, a lead researcher with the Institute of Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, told The Wall Street Journal the talks between the two presidents were of vast significance.

“They’re obviously important because there is a very decisive trend toward isolation of Russia, especially from the Western democracies, and Russia perceives the United States as the leader of the collective West [so] obviously a direct communication with the president of the United States is always a huge deal,” Mr Sharikov said.

The call came as the US government promised to announce new “initiatives and commitments” as part of a two-day virtual democracy summit to begin on Thursday in Washington, in the areas of “free and independent media, fighting corruption, defending free and fair elections, strengthening democratic reformers, and harnessing technology for democratic renewal”.

The summit has excluded Russia and China.