US official says ‘no fundamental change’ after Biden-Putin call

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin talked over the phone for more than 1 hour on Saturday as tensions over the Ukraine crisis reach a boiling point. According to White House officials, Biden, during the call, warned Putin that Ukraine attack will bring “swift and severe costs”. According to a readout from the White House, Biden stressed 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.” A US official told AFP that more than one-hour call between Biden and Putin had “no fundamental change.” The timing of any possible Russian military action is unclear. But the US intelligence claims that Russia is looking at Wednesday as a target date, according to media reports.

President Biden spoke with President Vladimir Putin today to make clear that if Russia further invades Ukraine, the U.S. and our allies will impose swift and severe costs on Russia. President Biden urged President Putin to engage in de-escalation and diplomacy instead. pic.twitter.com/HqK0b65kFm

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 12, 2022

Meanwhile, Dutch flight carrier KLM has suspended flights to Ukraine until further notice.  The airline said it had cancelled its scheduled Saturday evening flight to Kyiv and suspended all other Ukraine flights “until further notice”, after it conducted a “comprehensive security analysis” as the Dutch government warned citizens against travel to the country. Britain has asked its nationals in Ukraine to leave the country in the next 48 hours as Russia could invade any day now. The UK Foreign Office's warning came as the US said that Russia is ready to invade the country. The US also issued advisory to their citizens asking them to leave  Ukraine.  US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Russia was in the position to be able to mount a major military operation in Ukraine any day now and it could start with an intense aerial bombing. But he stressed the US did not know whether President Vladimir Putin had made a final decision. A host of other countries have also urged their nationals to leave Ukraine. They include Canada, the Netherlands, Latvia, Japan and South Korea.  
However, Moscow has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite amassing more than 100,000 troops near the border. Russia's foreign ministry has also accused Western countries of spreading false information. In the meantime, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would speak to Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov  in a last-ditch attempt to head off a possible invasion of Ukraine. Addressing a press conference in Fiji he said, if Russia is genuinely interested in resolving this crisis of its own making through diplomacy and dialogue, US is prepared to do that. But it must take place in the context of de-escalation. So far, we've only seen escalation from Moscow, he added.