Foreign Policy
Russia was again urged to ease its military buildup near Ukraine ahead of a pivotal month of talks.
President Joe Biden speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone from his private residence in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. | Adam Schultz/The White House via AP
By BRYAN BENDER
12/30/2021 07:29 PM EST
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President Joe Biden warned President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that continuing Russia’s aggressive military buildup on the border with Ukraine could force NATO to move more troops into eastern Europe and reiterated any further violation of its territory would exact “serious costs and consequences,” administration officials said.
But they also expressed hope that more formal “strategic stability talks” between Washington and Moscow, which are set for January on a myriad of issues, could lead to a path out of the current crisis.
“President Biden laid out two aspects of the U.S. approach that will really depend on Russia’s actions in the period ahead,” a senior administration official told reporters after the afternoon call Washington time. “One is a path of diplomacy leading toward a declaration of the situation and the other is a path that is more focused on deterrence, including serious costs and consequences should Russia choose to proceed with a further invasion of Ukraine.”