Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a ceremony to give state awards to military personnel who fought in Syria.
President Joe Biden didn't accept Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "red lines" on Ukraine during their high-stakes video call Tuesday that came as Russia's military builds its presence in the Ukrainian border.
The U.S. isn't accepting Putin's demand that Ukraine be denied entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. An attack on one NATO country is considered an attack on all of them.
With Ukraine not in NATO, Biden and Western allies have warned Moscow that an invasion of Russia's ex-Soviet neighbor will cause economic and political consequences.
Putin told Biden that the bid to join NATO by Ukraine must be denied in exchange for assurances that Russian troops wouldn't attack. Since 2002, Ukraine has been seeking acceptance into the alliance.
The Biden administration wants to make it clear to Russia and the world that it is prepared to be more aggressive this time around.
Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday that Biden made no commitments or concessions when addressing Putin's red lines.
Sullivan said that Biden stood by the idea that countries should be able to choose who they associate with.
NATO's eastward expansion has been characterized by the Kremlin as a direct security threat because it could lead to NATO troop movements on Russia's borders.
Putin has said many times that Ukraine is part of Russia. Mary Ellen O'Connell, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, said that Russia should include Ukraine in order for Putin and other Russians to like it.
O'Connell said that Putin does not want to see Ukraine join the Western institutions of NATO or the European Union.
Putin told Biden that NATO was to blame for the rising tensions on Russia's borders and that the alliance was building up armies in states adjacent to Russia.
Russian troops are massing along the eastern border of Ukraine, a development that is similar to the invasion of the peninsula of Crimea. The annexation of the Black Sea peninsula caused an uproar and led to sanctions against Moscow.
Russia will face tougher consequences if it invades Ukraine than it did in 2014, O'Connell said.
The consequences would likely be more severe than in the past.
Putin knows that an invasion will cause fierce Ukrainian military resistance. The global response to such a brazen act of aggression would likely be more costly than the invasion of Crimea.
Sullivan downplayed the idea that additional sanctions would deter Russia.
The Secretary of State is in the White House's Situation Room listening to other officials talk on a secure video call as the US fears that Russia will attack Ukraine.
Sullivan said that the White House was working closely with European allies, experts from the Treasury Department, the State Department and the National Security Council on a package of economic and political countermeasures.
Sullivan wouldn't say what measures the U.S. was prepared to impose.
Last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Moscow to de-escalate tensions and reiterated that the alliance's commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity remains steadfast.
Ukraine is an independent nation. Every independent nation has the right to choose its own path and what security arrangements it wants to be part of. It's up to Ukraine and 30 allies when to join the alliance, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Russia has no right to interfere in the process, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
