(Washington) Joe Biden repeated Thursday to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States and its allies would respond “resolutely” in the event of a Russian invasion, and spoke of increased economic assistance, according to a press release.
Posted at 5:43 p.m.
The American president is “considering additional economic aid” for Ukraine, the White House also said.
The United States has said it is preparing severe economic sanctions in the event of an attack on Ukraine, has delivered military equipment to it, and is also willing to reinforce its military presence in Eastern Europe if necessary.
But an American military intervention in Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, is excluded.
Joe Biden also assured his counterpart, during a telephone interview, that the American embassy in his country remained “open and fully operational”, although Washington had made the decision to repatriate the families of its diplomatic staff.
Ukraine had criticized this decision, considering it disproportionate.
The two leaders also reiterated the principle that in this crisis there would be no “decision on Ukraine without Ukraine”.
The White House had previously specified that this was the third interview between the two men since December.
The American president also expressed his support for the discussions carried out in the so-called “Normandy” diplomatic format, that is to say between Russia and Ukraine, under the mediation of France and Germany.
The next cycle of these exchanges is scheduled for the second week of February in Berlin.