AA / Ankara / Merve Aydogan
US President Joe Biden assured his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday that the United States would respond “swiftly and decisively” to any new Russian aggression.
In a telephone interview with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden “reaffirmed that the United States is committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” reads a transcript of the conversation released by the White House.
The US president also “made it clear that the United States, together with our allies and partners, would respond quickly and decisively to any further Russian aggression once morest Ukraine.”
Biden and Zelensky “agreed on the importance of maintaining diplomatic efforts, as well as the deterrent component, in response to Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders,” the statement added.
The United States has already made clear that its response to an invasion of Ukraine will not be a military confrontation with Russia, but rather punitive sanctions.
On Friday, the United States warned that Russia might invade Ukraine “at any time”, despite intense diplomatic efforts to avert war.
Ukraine has been embroiled in conflict in its eastern regions since March 2014, following Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.
Moscow recently deployed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, raising fears that the Kremlin is preparing a new military offensive once morest the former Soviet republic.
Russia has denied preparing for an invasion and accused Western countries of undermining its security due to NATO expansion to its borders.
The Kremlin has also drawn up a list of security demands on the West, including a reduction in troop deployments in some former Soviet republics and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will not join NATO.
*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj
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