U.S. President Joe Biden adopted a wait-and-see stance Tuesday after Russia announced it would scale back its offensive on two Ukrainian cities.
"We'll see. I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We'll see if they follow through on what they're suggesting," Biden told reporters at the White House alongside Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. "Let's just see what they have to offer."
In the interim, Biden said the U.S. and its allies would continue to enforce the sweeping sanctions they have imposed on Russia in retaliation for its war on Ukraine and would maintain ongoing military aid to reinforce the Ukrainian military.
Earlier Tuesday, Russia said it will significantly decrease its military activities in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase trust for future negotiations.
The country's deputy defense minister said following peace talks in Istanbul that Moscow would "radically decrease" its military offensives on the cities to create the "conditions for holding talks further, and achieving the final goal of agreeing and signing a peace treaty."
The announcement falls short of a nationwide humanitarian cease-fire called for by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday. But Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation to the Istanbul talks, said a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents could be held when a draft of a peace treaty is ready and approved.
Leaders of the United States, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom also held a telephone call Tuesday where they vowed to inflict additional costs on Russia for its war in Ukraine, the White House said Tuesday.
Biden's call was with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Borris Johnson "affirmed their determination to continue raising costs on Russia for its brutal attacks in Ukraine, as well as to continue supplying Ukraine with security assistance to defend itself against this unjustified and unprovoked assault," said the White House.
"They reviewed their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the millions affected by the violence, both inside Ukraine and seeking refuge in other countries, and underscored the need for humanitarian access to civilians in Mariupol," it added.
The leaders also discussed the importance of supporting stable energy markets in light of current disruptions due to sanctions.
In another statement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged Russia to immediately stop the war and withdraw its force from Ukraine.
"What I can say is this: There is what Russia says, and there is what Russia does. We're focused on the latter. And what Russia is doing is the continued brutalization of Ukraine and its people. And that continues as we speak," Blinken said in a joint press conference in Rabat with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita.
Blinken arrived in Rabat on Monday on a two-day visit for talks with Moroccan officials. He is scheduled to visit Algeria as part of his current tour that already took him to Israel and Ramallah.
Russia's war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has met with international outrage, with the European Union, U.S., and the United Kingdom, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 1,179 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,860 injured, according to estimates by the United Nations, which cautioned that the true figure is likely far higher.
More than 3.9 million Ukrainians have also fled to several European countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the U.N. refugee agency.