US President Joe Biden, who announced sanctions on Russia on Thursday, delivered follow-up remarks which clarified the purpose of the steps taken and shed light on the conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Biden. The US President went a step ahead and said that he is “prepared to take further actions” against Russia if the need arises.

Biden said he had a clear and transparent conversation with Putin and stressed that he “could have gone further” but decided to act in a proportionate manner. 

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The sanctions, in addition to the expulsion of various Russian representatives from the US, were in response to US intelligence determined that Russia was indeed responsible for intruding in the US Presidential elections in 2020.

However, the second half of Biden’s address was a carefully worded statement that attempted to call for a cooperative relationship between the two countries. He labelled the brief address with a “bottom line” which said, “now is the time to deescalate.”

Biden said that the US sought stronger communication with Russia as it was “essential” and hoped that the two countries can join hands to establish a “strategic stability dialogue”, which will aim to address key issues like climate change, the COVID-19 challenge and security concerns.  

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Further in the address, Biden also touched base on key issues like the expansion of Russian military forces on the borders of Ukraine and requested Putin to call off any possible offensive in the region. He said, “I affirmed US support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and I strongly urged him to refrain from any military action.”

However, after the address was over, Biden was roped back in front of the podium after being heckled for a statement by the reporters present at the event. Biden diplomatically answered questions about the US policy on the Nordstream 2 pipeline project, a possible area of friction between US and Russia. 

He labelled it as a “complicated issue” and said that it was still under advisement.