As The Danger Of An Invasion Of Ukraine Looms, Biden Speaks Directly With Putin For The First Time Since December
According to The Associated Press, Biden and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Saturday in what could be a last-ditch effort to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Putin attempted to schedule the call for Monday, but Biden insisted that it happen as soon as possible on Friday. During the call, Biden was at Camp David. According to The New York Post, Biden and Putin spoke directly for the first time since December on Saturday.
Negotiations between US and Russian diplomats in Geneva and at the United Nations have yielded little to no progress in defusing the crisis, and Russia has massed 130,000 troops on Ukraine's border.
According to US intelligence sources, Putin may have already given the order to invade. The State Department has recommended all American citizens to leave Ukraine while they still have the opportunity.
Putin spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron before the call, and the two met in Moscow on Monday. After the meeting on Monday, Macron told reporters that he had "got a guarantee" from Putin that the situation on Ukraine's border would not "escalate." Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, promptly disputed that such such promise had been offered.