The planned call will be the second this month amid Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine. In a Dec. 7 video call, Biden warned Putin not to mount a new invasion and laid out the economic and security costs that Russia would face if the Kremlin chooses to go down that path. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
President Joe Biden will hold another phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon “to discuss a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia,” a National Security Council spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The planned call will be the second this month amid Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine. In a Dec. 7 video call, Biden warned Putin not to mount a new invasion and laid out the economic and security costs that Russia would face if the Kremlin chooses to go down that path.
In Wednesday’s statement announcing the second call, National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne noted that the Biden administration “continues to engage in extensive diplomacy with our European Allies and partners, consulting and coordinating on a common approach in response to Russia’s military build-up.”
“President Biden has spoken with leaders across Europe, and Biden Administration officials have engaged multilaterally with NATO, the [European Union], and the [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe],” she added. “Officials have also held numerous consultations with their counterparts, including those from eastern flank countries bilaterally and in the [Bucharest Nine] format as well as Ukraine.”
The Bucharest Nine is a reference to nine European nations that form the eastern edge of NATO: Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.
