Putin, Biden talk amid Ukraine tensions
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As the western accusations of an "imminent invasion" mount, Presidents Putin and Biden hold talks on the situation as Moscow asks for guarantees.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin
US President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that Washington would "respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia" should it, as he puts it, invade Ukraine.
A readout from the White House said Biden stressed that "while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our Allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios."
The phone conversation between the two leaders, their third since the beginning of the crisis around Ukraine, started at 16:04 GMT, the White House reported earlier, and US media reported that it ended at 17:06 GMT.
Putin said Russia would carefully consider Biden's ideas, though they do not deal with Russia's key concerns.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier these concerns included curbing NATO's expansion and the non-deployment of strike weapons systems near Russia's border, as Russia has been saying since the tensions started altogether.
Biden, according to a US administration official, said Biden agreed "that our people stay engaged in the days ahead", in reference to the situation surrounding Ukraine and the US allegations that Russia is planning on invading in the coming days.
However, he claimed Russia may still "decide to proceed with military action anyway."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was too much information circulated about the alleged Russian plans to take aggressive action against Ukraine, requesting solid proof of a potential invasion.
"I believe that today there is too much information circulated regarding a full-scale war by the Russian Federation... We understand all the risks. We understand that these risks exist," Zelensky told a press briefing Saturday.
