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Early Saturday, Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conference to discuss Ukraine.
According to reports, the call lasted about an hour or so.
Even after the long chat, it appears as though Biden made no headway with Putin.
No Fundamental Change
Over the last 72 hours, the situation with Ukraine has elevated considerably.
Russia has started to conduct very aggressive military activities just outside the Ukraine border.
Biden reached out to Putin in an effort to stop this from continuing to escalate, but he reportedly failed once again.
To this point, Biden has committed to not having US troops square off against Russian troops, predicting it would be like World War III.
Putin has pretty much laughed off the threat of “swift and severe costs,” which is more than likely because Putin has just as much leverage against us as we have against him.
After the latest call, a Biden official stated, “The call between the two presidents was professional and substantive [and] it lasted a bit over an hour.
“There was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks.”
The administration stated that it would continue diplomacy, but it is ready for all scenarios.
The official stated, “We’re also clear-eyed about the prospect of that given the readily apparent steps Russia is taking on the ground in plain sight right before our eyes.
“The stakes of this are too high not to give Russia every chance to avoid an action that we believe would be catastrophic.”
On the readout of the call with Putin, the White House stated, “President Biden was clear that, if Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States together with our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia.
“President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing.”
During a White House briefing, Pentagon spokesman Jake Sullivan added, “As we’ve said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time, should Vladimir Putin decide to order it.”
With Biden not making headway, most are predicting that Russia could invade inside of a week, which would turn the international scene on its head.
This is a developing story and we will continue to monitor it.
