Biden told Putin that ‘things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now’
“I will look you in the eye and tell you, as President Biden looked Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014 we are prepared to do now,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday afternoon after Biden’s call with Putin.
Sullivan did not go into specifics, but added that the US is coordinating with European allies “at a deep level of specificity.”
He said Biden “was direct and straightforward with President Putin, as he always is,” later adding that “there was a lot of give and take. There was no finger-wagging, but the President was crystal clear about where the United States stands on all of these issues.”
Along with the economic ramifications mentioned on the call, Sullivan said Biden relayed that the US is prepared to bolster defense capabilities in the region.
“He reiterated America’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He told President Putin directly that if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States and our European allies would respond with strong economic measures,” Sullivan said. “We would provide additional defensive materiel to the Ukrainians above and beyond that which we are already providing, and we would fortify our NATO allies on the eastern flank with additional capabilities in response to such an escalation.”
The other option, Sullivan said, is de-escalation and diplomacy.
“The United States and our European allies would engage in a larger discussion that covers strategic issues, including our strategic concerns with Russia and Russia’s strategic concerns. We managed to do this at the height of the Cold War and we developed mechanisms to help reduce instability and increase transparency,” he said.
A call in the Situation Room
Biden and Putin spoke for about two hours over a secure video call earlier Tuesday.
The two presidents tasked their respective teams with following up on their discussions, with the White House adding that “the US will do so in close coordination with allies and partners.”
In addition to the Ukraine issue, the two leaders discussed “the US-Russia dialogue on Strategic Stability, a separate dialogue on ransomware, as well as joint work on regional issues such as Iran,” the White House said.
A White House photograph from the meeting, which began at 10:07 a.m. ET and ended at 12:08 p.m. ET, showed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sullivan and senior director for Russia and Central Asia Eric Green were seated next to Biden in the Situation Room during the video call.
Read More: Biden told Putin that ‘things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now’