On Sunday, January 2, during a telephone conversation between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. leader Joe Biden, the head of the United States assured his Ukrainian counterpart that the United States and its allies will "respond decisively" if Russia further invades Ukraine.
This is reported by Reuters.
The call came days after Biden held the second conversation in a month with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid tensions on Russia's border with Ukraine, where Russia has massed some 100,000 troops.
"President Biden made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement following the call.
According to the White House, Biden and Zelenskiy discussed preparations for a series of upcoming diplomatic meetings to address the crisis, according to the White House.
It's worth noting that representatives from U.S. and Russia are set to hold talks on Jan. 9-10 in Geneva, followed by Russia-NATO Council talks and a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Biden has said he told Putin it was important for the Russians to take steps toward easing the crisis before those meetings.
The U.S. President also expressed support for diplomatic measures to ease tensions while also reaffirming "the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," the White House said.
As Apostrophe reported, on December 30, at the request of the Russian side, negotiations were held between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The conversation was held online and, among other, Ukraine was the focus of the discussion.