"I was very straightforward. There were no minced words. It was polite, but I made it very clear. If in fact, [Putin] invades Ukraine , there will be severe consequences, economic consequences like none he's ever seen or ever have been seen being imposed," Biden told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House as he departed for a trip to Kansas City.
He ruled out stationing U.S. soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, saying that "is not in the cards right now.
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"That is not on the table. We have a moral obligation and a legal obligation to our NATO allies if they were to attack under article 5, it's a sacred obligation. That obligation does not extend to NATO, I mean to Ukraine," the president said.
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But he did imply that the U.S. would recruit its military presence in NATO countries to help the defensive powers of Ukraine.
"I indicated I knew he would respond, but beyond that, if in fact, we would probably also be required to reinforce our presence in NATO countries, particularly those in the eastern front," he said. "In addition to that, I made it clear that we would provide the defensive capability to the Ukrainians as well."
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Biden said he was absolutely confident that Putin got the message. "I have absolute confidence he got the message," he said.
He also said that by Friday the Administration expects to announce a series of follow-up meetings among the high-level staff of the two countries.
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In addition to the economic fallouts, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that also Biden threatened Russia's gas exports.
"There's no finger-wagging but the President was crystal clear about where the United States stands on all of these issues," Sullivan said, calling Tuesday's two-hour conversation with Putin "useful."
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The U.S. has taken a strong stance as Russia builds up its troops presence along the US border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he welcomed Biden's "personal role" in the negotiations.
"In general, I think it is positive that the president of the United States spoke with the president of the Russian Federation," Zelensky said at a news conference. "The most important thing that we see now is that there is a personal real reaction and personal role of President Biden in resolving this conflict, the war in the east of our state."
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Sullivan said if Russia goes on the attack that NATO countries like Poland and Romania would be understandably concerned and the U.S. would "fortify" its allies along with providing "additional defensive material for the Ukrainians."
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