Biden and Putin Speak; U.S. Pulls Embassy Staff, Military Trai | G3 News

Biden and Putin Speak; U.S. Pulls Embassy Staff, Military Trainers From Ukraine

@G3News: Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone for an hour on Saturday after Washington and its allies warned that Russian forces could invade Ukraine at any moment.

The U.S. State Department ordered most of its embassy staff to leave Ukraine, adding to its call on Friday for private citizens to get out of the country within 48 hours. The Pentagon said it was withdrawing about 150 military trainers.

Earlier on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron told Putin that sincere negotiations were incompatible with an escalation in tensions over Ukraine, France said. Biden and Macron are due to speak after their separate calls with Putin.

Bulgaria, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and other countries have also urged their citizens to leave Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly disputed Washington's version of events, saying it has massed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border to maintain its own security against aggression by NATO allies.

Russia, which has accused Western nations of spreading lies to distract from their own acts, meanwhile said on Saturday that it had decided to 'optimise' its diplomatic staff numbers in Ukraine, fearing 'provocations' by Kyiv or others.
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