Biden to warn Putin of economic pain if he invades Ukraine

2 years ago 257

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is acceptable to pass Vladimir Putin during a video telephone Tuesday that Russia volition look economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine arsenic the U.S. president seeks a diplomatic solution to woody with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed adjacent the Ukraine border.

Biden aims to marque wide that his medication stands acceptable to instrumentality actions against the Kremlin that would nonstop “a precise existent cost” connected the Russian economy, according to White House officials. Putin, for his part, is expected to request guarantees from Biden that the NATO subject alliance volition ne'er grow to see Ukraine, which has agelong sought membership. That's a non-starter for the Americans and their NATO allies.

“We’ve consulted importantly with our allies and judge we person a way guardant that would enforce important and terrible harm connected the Russian economy,” White House property caput Jen Psaki said Monday successful previewing the meeting. “You tin telephone that a threat. You tin telephone that a fact. You tin telephone that preparation. You tin telephone it immoderate you privation to telephone it.”

The leader-to-leader conversation — Biden speaking from the Situation Room, Putin from his residence successful Sochi — is expected to beryllium 1 of the toughest of Biden's presidency and comes astatine a perilous time. U.S. quality officials person determined that Russia has massed 70,000 troops adjacent the Ukraine borderline and has made preparations for a imaginable penetration aboriginal adjacent year.

The U.S. has not determined whether Putin has made a last determination to invade. Still, Biden intends to marque wide to the Russian person that determination volition beryllium a “very existent cost” should Russia proceed with subject action, according to a elder medication authoritative who briefed reporters connected the information of anonymity.

Biden was vice president successful 2014 erstwhile Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and annexed the territory from Ukraine. Aides accidental the Crimea occurrence — 1 of the darker moments for erstwhile President Barack Obama connected the planetary signifier — looms ample arsenic Biden looks astatine the existent smoldering crisis.

The eastward enlargement of NATO has from the commencement been a bony of contention not conscionable with Moscow but besides successful Washington. In 1996, erstwhile President Bill Clinton’s nationalist information squad debated the timing of rank invitations to erstwhile Soviet allies Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, Defense Secretary William Perry urged hold successful bid to support Russian relations connected track. Perry wrote successful his memoir that erstwhile helium mislaid the interior statement helium considered resigning.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were formally invited successful 1997 and joined successful 1999. They were followed successful 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the erstwhile Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Since then, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia person joined, bringing NATO’s full to 30 nations.

A cardinal rule of the NATO confederation is that rank is unfastened to immoderate qualifying country. And nary outsider has rank veto power. While there’s small imaginable that Ukraine would beryllium invited into the confederation anytime soon, the U.S. and its allies won’t regularisation it out.

In Washington, Republicans are framing this infinitesimal arsenic a cardinal trial of Biden’s enactment connected the planetary stage.

Biden vowed arsenic a campaigner to reassert American leadership aft President Donald Trump’s accent connected an “America first” overseas policy. But Biden has faced fierce disapproval from Republicans who accidental that he’s been ineffective successful slowing Iran’s march toward becoming a atomic powerfulness and that the Biden medication has done excessively small to antagonistic autocratic leaders similar China’s Xi Jinping, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Putin.

“Fellow authoritarians successful Beijing and Tehran volition beryllium watching however the escaped satellite responds,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “And President Biden has an accidental to acceptable the code erstwhile helium speaks with Putin.”

Trump, who showed antithetic deference to Putin during his presidency, said successful a Newsmax interrogation connected Monday that the Biden-Putin speech would not beryllium a “fair match,” describing it arsenic tantamount to the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots facing a precocious schoolhouse shot team.

Ahead of the Putin call, Biden connected Monday spoke with leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to coordinate messaging and imaginable sanctions.

The White House said successful a connection that the leaders called connected Russia to “de-escalate tensions” and agreed that diplomacy "is the lone mode guardant to resoluteness the conflict.”

Ahead of the Biden-Putin faceoff, Secretary of State Antony Blinken connected Monday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy wrote connected Twitter that helium and Blinken “agreed to proceed associated & concerted action” and expressed his gratitude for the U.S. and allies providing “continued enactment of our sovereignty & territorial integrity.” Biden himself is expected to talk with Zelenskyy aboriginal this week.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Blinken “reiterated the United States’ unwavering enactment for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity successful the look of Russian aggression.”

The Kremlin has made wide that Putin planned to question binding guarantees from Biden precluding NATO’s enlargement to Ukraine. Biden and aides person indicated nary specified warrant is likely, with the president himself saying helium “won't judge anyone's reddish line.”

Psaki stressed “NATO subordinate countries determine who is simply a subordinate of NATO, not Russia. And that is however the process has ever been and however it volition proceed.”

Still, Putin sees this arsenic a infinitesimal to readjust the powerfulness dynamic of the U.S.-Russia relationship.

“It is astir cardinal principles established 30 years agone for the relations betwixt Russia and the West,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, a starring Moscow-based overseas argumentation expert. “Russia demands to revise these principles, the West says there’s nary grounds for that. So, it’s intolerable to travel to an statement conscionable similar that.”

Beyond Ukraine, determination are plentifulness of different thorny issues connected the table, including cyberattacks and quality rights. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said U.S.-Russian relations are wide successful “a alternatively dire state.”

Both the White House and the Kremlin sought successful beforehand to little expectations for the call. Both sides said they didn't expect immoderate breakthroughs connected Ukraine oregon the different issues up for discussion, but that conscionable the speech itself volition beryllium progress.

___

Litvinova reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Robert Burns and Darlene Superville contributed reporting.

Read Entire Article