US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Saturday, as did US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to the US State and Defense departments.
Blinken reiterated that diplomatic channels of communication would remain open, but, to avoid conflict in Ukraine, Moscow would need to tangibly de-escalate its force posture on Ukraine's borders, the State Department said.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said that, if Russia were to invade Ukraine now, the result would be "a resolute, massive, and united trans-Atlantic response."
Austin and Shoigu also spoke on Saturday, according to the Pentagon. The US announced it would remove 150 US military trainers currently located in Ukraine.
Putin's calls with leaders of US, France
Saturday's diplomatic and military overtures come ahead of a call arranged between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, also scheduled to take place Saturday.
Reuters news agency reported that Putin sought for the call to occur Monday, but Biden pushed for it Saturday with increasingly bellicose reports emerging from US intelligence sources. Biden will speak to Putin from Camp David, the US presidential retreat in Maryland.
It is the first time the two leaders have spoken since December.
Prior to the call between Biden and Putin, Putin spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Moscow earlier in the week to try and deescalate tensions. Other than saying the two leaders spoke for an hour and 40 minutes, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov gave no further information on the details of the call.
The Elysee palace said Macron informed Putin that "sincere dialogue" was not compatible with escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
What was said on the Blinken-Lavrov call?
Earlier Saturday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Lavrov told Blinken the US sought to provoke a conflict over Ukraine.
According to the ministry, Lavrov told Blinken, "The propaganda campaign unleashed by the United States and its allies concerning 'Russian aggression' against Ukraine pursues provocative goals."
What is the possibility of armed conflict?
The calls among Russian and Western leaders come as the US announced plans to clear its Kyiv Embassy of non-emergency staff on Saturday and maintain a skeletal team in the western city of Lviv.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said Russian diplomatic personnel would be leaving the country's Kyiv Embassy to have an "optimized" staff in the Ukrainian capital.
The confrontation between east and west comes as Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders. Currently, Russia is conducting naval drills in the Black Sea and military exercises in Belarus along Ukraine's northern border.
The soaring tensions over Ukraine and the possibility of an armed conflict on the European continent are seen as the greatest geopolitical test for NATO and Europe in the aftermath of the Cold War.
Zelenskyy warns panic aids enemies
Despite the increasing signs that the scales may be tipping towards an escalation of hostilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists Saturday he was surprised by the latest round of warnings and departures from Western governments.
Zelenskyy said anyone with any information about the invasion of Ukraine should inform the Ukrainian government. He said panic now would only serve Ukraine's enemies.
"We understand all the risks," the Ukrainian president said. "We understand that the risks are there."
ar/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)