US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the United States had “no not yet checked “the Kremlin’s claims regarding the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine’s borders, believing that an invasion remains”definitely possible”.
In a speech from the White House, Mr Biden said Moscow’s assurances of a military withdrawal, which President Vladimir Putin himself acknowledged on Tuesday, would be “good”, but US analysts believe Russian forces “remain in a very threatening position”.
The US president added that Russia currently has more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine and Belarus, a higher estimate than previously provided by US officials.
« If Russia invades Ukraine in the days and weeks to come, the human cost to Ukraine will be immense and the strategic cost to Russia will also be immense,” Biden warned. “The world will not forget that Russia chose unnecessary death and destruction. The invasion of Ukraine will prove to be a self-inflicted wound” , he said.
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« The United States and our allies and partners around the world are prepared to impose tough sanctions and export controls, including actions we failed to implement when Russia invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014“, he continued.
At one point, the American president spoke directly to the Russian people, assuring that the United States and NATO pose no threat to their country and do not consider them “our enemy”.
« 77 years ago, our peoples fought and sacrificed side by side to end the worst war in history. World War II was a war of necessity. But if Russia attacks Ukraine, it will be a war of choice – a war without cause or reason“, he argued.
In recent weeks, the US administration has increased diplomatic contacts not only with Russia but also with its European allies to try to defuse the crisis.
Mr Biden spoke with Mr Putin over the weekend and held telephone talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday and with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.
(With MAP)
