US President Joe Biden said he believes Vladimir Putin doesn't want full-blown war in Ukraine and would pay a "dear price" if he moves forward with a military incursion. Biden, speaking at a news conference to mark his one-year anniversary in office, also said he believes that Russia is preparing to take action on Ukraine, though he doesn't think the Russian president has made a final decision. He suggested that he would limit Russia's access to the international banking system if it did further invade Ukraine.
"I am not so sure that he is certain what is he going to do," Biden said. He added, "My guess is he will move in."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with his Russian counterpart in Switzerland this week. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, will move on to Berlin to meet with allies, and on Friday will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva. The hastily arranged trip aims to show US support for Ukraine and impress on Russia the need for de-escalation.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki underscored the urgency. "We are now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine. And what Secretary Blinken is going to go do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward," she said Tuesday. Psaki said Russian President Vladimir Putin created the crisis by massing 1,00,000 troops along Ukraine's borders and it is up to him and the Russians to decide whether to invade and then suffer severe economic consequences.
The US has not concluded whether Putin plans to invade or whether the show of force is intended to squeeze security concessions without an actual conflict. Russia has brushed off calls to withdraw its troops by saying it has a right to deploy its forces wherever it likes on its own territory.
Blinken's meetings follow inconclusive diplomatic talks between Moscow and the West in Europe last week that failed to resolve stark disagreements over Ukraine and other security matters.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with his Russian counterpart in Switzerland this week as tensions between the US and Russia escalate over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the state department said.
-Inputs from AP
