© Provided by Agencia EFE
Washington, Feb 12 (EFE).- The president of the United States, Joe Biden, and that of Russia, Vladimir Putin, held a telephone conversation this Saturday to discuss the situation in Ukraine, at a time when the US has requested all its citizens leaving the country and has reduced its diplomatic presence in Kiev.
“The secure call between President Biden and Russian President Putin was completed at 12:06 p.m. Eastern Time in the US (17:06 GMT),” the White House journalists’ pool reported on Saturday.
Biden took the call at the presidential residence of Camp David, in the state of Maryland, and where he went on Friday followingnoon.
Today’s was the first direct conversation between the two leaders since December 30, when Biden and Putin made their differences on Ukraine clear.
The conversation came following the US yesterday asked its citizens to leave Ukrainian territory in the next 24 to 48 hours due to the “clear possibility” of Russia attacking Ukraine during the Winter Olympics, which are held until next February 20 in Beijing.
Just a few hours before the call, the US government ordered 160 members of the Florida National Guard (one of its military reserve corps) to leave Ukraine as an extreme precaution.
The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, ordered “the temporary repositioning” of these 160 reservists who have been in Ukraine since last November, the Department of Defense reported in a statement.
The troops are assigned to the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and have been advising and training the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the past few months.
After leaving the country, they will relocate to other destinations in Europe.
(c) EFE Agency
