President Joe Biden made it clear to his counterpart Vladimir Putin that U.S. will respond devicively if Russia invaded Ukraine, but he reiterated that Washington is open for diplomatic dialogues with Moscow.

In a statement on Thursday issued after the phone call between the two leaders, Jen Psaki, the White House’s press secretary said that urged Putin to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine.

” Presiden Biden made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine” Psaki added.

According to the White House, President Biden also expressed support for diplomacy, starting early next year with the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue, at NATO through the NATO-Russia Council, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

” Mr. Biden noted that substantive progress in these dialogues could occur only in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation” Psaki said in the statement.