Biden hasn't spoken to Ukraine's Zelenskyy since 'minor incursion' gaffe, Psaki says
Officials 'below the president' have been in contact with Ukraine, Psaki says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden hadn’t spoken personally to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since Biden appeared to downplay the potential for a "minor incursion" by Russia against the country during his press conference Wednesday night.
Biden raised eyebrows during his marathon press conference when he said action by NATO following a Russian incursion "depends" on the size of the invasion.
UKRAINE PRESIDENT PUSHES BACK ON BIDEN'S CHOICE OF WORDS: 'THERE ARE NO MINOR INCURSIONS'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
"It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera," he said. "But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine."
Biden’s comment prompted Zelenskyy to fire back in a tweet, writing, "We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures as he addresses lawmakers in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021.
On Thursday, Biden took time at the beginning of a meeting with his infrastructure task force to clarify his comments.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I've been absolutely clear with President Putin," the president said. "He has no misunderstanding, if any, any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion," Biden said, adding that this would "be met with severe and coordinated economic response that I've discussed in detail with our allies, as well as laid out very clearly for President Putin."
Psaki was asked during her daily press briefing Thursday whether Biden had personally spoken with Zelenskyy since the conference.
"He has not," Psaki said. "He has spoken with him a couple of times, as you know, in the last month. But we have spoken at a very high level, but below the president."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}U.S. White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., Dec. 20, 2021. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
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Psaki said earlier that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been meeting with Ukrainian officials while in Europe.
"So we have been in touch at a high level," she said. "They certainly understand from those conversations what the president meant. And you saw the president make a statement or convey clearly his point of view this morning, which is reflective of exactly what he said, most importantly to President Putin.