US President Joe Biden (left) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
BERLIN — US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday urged Moscow to take real steps to defuse tensions, as they warned that no significant withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukraine border had been observed so far.
“The risk of a further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine remains high, utmost caution is required,” according to a statement issued by the German chancellery following a phone call between Scholz and Biden.
“Russia must take real steps toward de-escalation,” they added, renewing a warning that any further military aggression undertaken by Moscow against Ukraine would invite “extraordinarily serious consequences”.
Scholz had telephoned Biden to brief the US leader on his face-to-face talks on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Both leaders welcomed Putin’s statements that diplomatic efforts should continue to resolve the Ukraine crisis, and affirmed that they must be “pursued at full speed”.