Before that, Macron called Putin, and then Putin called Lukashenka. This comes amid news that Russia is planning an attack on Ukraine in the coming days.
United States President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin on February 12. The White House report says Biden spoke of an escalating Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders.
“President Biden was clear that, if Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States and our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia. President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing. President Biden was clear with President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our Allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios,” the White House said in a statement.
At the time of our publication, the Kremlin has not reported this call.
According to CNN, after the talks, a Biden administration official told reporters that the conversation was “professional and substantive,” but “there has been no fundamental change in the dynamics that have been unfolding now for several weeks.” Russia, the official said, could still decide to continue military action against Ukraine.
In the phrase about “swift and severe costs” was the word “swift” in tune with the SWIFT banking system, from which Russia could theoretically be cut off as a sanction for starting a war. But rumors about Russia’s disconnection from this system either appear or are refuted.
Belarus is seen as one of the possible ways for a Russian attack on Ukraine. Currently, extensive Russian-Belarusian military exercises are ongoing on Belarusian territory, and the Russian military is seen far from official training grounds. NATO estimates that around 30,000 Russian soldiers may now be in Belarus, the largest troop deployment to Belarus since the Cold War.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka now devotes a significant part of his speeches to a possible war between Russia and Ukraine and the participation of Belarus in it.
