President Biden agreed to meet with Russian President Putin “in principle” as long as the superpower does not invade Ukraine, the White House announced Sunday night.
The talks would be brokered by the French.
“As the President has repeatedly made clear, we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. “Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov are scheduled to meet later this week in Europe, provided Russia does not proceed with military action. President Biden accepted in principle a meeting with President Putin following that engagement, again, if an invasion hasn’t happened.”
The news of a summit came as fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine mounted.
Russian troops remained deployed along Ukraine’s borders, and deadly tensions in Ukraine’s breakaway region fueled fears that an invasion was looming.
Still, the U.S. was hoping for a diplomatic answer to avert the crisis, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
“We believe Vladimir Putin has made the decision, but until the tanks are actually rolling and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade Putin from carrying this forward,” Blinken said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“President Biden is prepared to engage President Putin at any time, in any format if that can help prevent a war.”
But with Russia extending its military drills near Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus on Sunday, Blinken said Moscow appeared determined to invade.
“Everything we’re seeing suggests that this is dead serious, that we are on the brink of an invasion,” he said.
Russia’s military drills, which have involved a huge buildup of troops, had been scheduled to end Sunday.
But hostilities in eastern Ukraine appeared to provide a pretext for Russia to keep the exercises going — a scenario that the White House had predicted.
“He is following the script almost to the letter,” Blinken said of the Russian president.
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine accused Ukraine of launching attacks over the weekend, resulting in two civilian deaths. Two Ukrainian soldiers died in clashes, according to Kyiv, which rejected the allegations of escalation.
While Russia has deployed more than 150,000 troops around Ukraine in recent weeks, Putin has demanded promises that Ukraine never become part of NATO and insisted he has no intention of invading.
U.S. and European officials have struggled to defuse the situation — threatening severe sanctions in the event of an invasion — while shying away from Putin’s demands.
Blinken defended the decision to hold off on sanctions for now.
“The purpose of the sanctions in the first instance is to try to deter Russia from going to war. As soon as you trigger them, that deterrent is gone,” he said.
“And until the last minute, as long as we can try to bring a deterrent effect to this, we’re going to try to do that.”
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, voiced his impatience and called for more support from his country’s allies.
“We are going to protect our country with or without the support of our partners,” he said in a speech Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, an annual gathering of international policymakers.
“What are you waiting for?” Zelenskyy asked, saying sanctions against Russia would be of no help after an invasion.
Zelenskyy also called for a meeting with Putin.
“I don’t know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting,” he said in Munich. “Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement.”
Vice President Kamala Harris responded to his comments with words of solidarity.
“Let us recognize the position he’s in,” Harris told reporters before flying back to the U.S. from Munich. “His country is virtually surrounded by Russian troops.
“I told him in our meeting, ‘The United States stands with you,’ ” she added, “because we do, as do this community of allies and partners.”
Harris stuck to the White House line that sanctions would only come if Russia invaded Ukraine, and she did not commit to additional defense help.
Biden has ruled out sending U.S. troops to Ukraine, but sent a $200 million defense package including Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery and other weapons last month.
European officials remained in the mix, with French President Emmanuel Macron holding a Sunday phone call with Putin. Putin reportedly said the Kremlin was still interested in a diplomatic solution.
The Russian strongman’s aggression toward Ukraine has prompted widespread speculation about his reasoning and motives.
“Vladimir Putin is possibly thinking illogically about this and doesn’t see the disaster ahead,” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC.
With News Wires Services
For Putin to keep meeting with Biden, it is apparent that he is trying very hard to extract something from him. Putin, like everyone else, can see that Biden is weak and can be manipulated. Putin certainly isn’t fearful of any reprisal on Biden’s part.
Joe is hoping Putin will make him an offer he cannot refuse. Cha Ching goes the Biden family cash register. They never let a crisis opportunity go to waste when there is money to be made or power to be bartered away.
THIS Is as pointless, as asking for a PTA conference, to ask the bullies to STOP picking on your kid.
President Biden agreeing to meet with Russian President Putin “in principle” as long as the superpower does not invade Ukraine, is like telling a rapist you will have a date with him so long as he promises not to tear off your clothes or molest you or your daughter. This is Putin Joe, not Casper Milktoast, and like a wild wolf will do what wolves do. They may at times look a lot like a tame domesticated, family friend that can even at times lick your hand, but always default to their designed biting natures when the first opportunity arises. Putin is one dirty dog that needs to be leashed before you enter his kennel or Joe Biden may soon become Joe Bitten. You can shout at him all you want to “Stay, Boy Stay” but with fresh meat on the table you can forget him obeying and sitting down, let alone staying where you tell him to stay. All that you can do now is either take the meat off the table, or poison it if he tries to eat it.
Joe, a weak senile old man. What has Putin got to lose by invading the Ukraine? Answer: Nothing, as Biden is a weak slave to Putin.
So true.. AND SINCE IN the last 50+ years, SANCTIONS have done jack squat, to stop bad behavior from nation after nation, WHY IS THAT ALL WE KEEP HEARING that politicians and media hacks, want??
EITHER TELL Russia “here’s twenty nukes, AIMED RIGHT THE HELL at moscow, and will be launched, the SECOND ANY russian troop fires a single bullet into Ukraine”,. OR we may as well just accept moscow will now own ukraine.. BECAUSE NOT A SINGLE bullet or missile or tank we gave them, OR THE 4000 or so troops we sent there, will DO A DAMN THING to stop putin from taking it.
Does anyone find it strange that the media, and politicians, have been saying the invasion is imminent, any moment now, for the last month? They have successfully chased EVERY other crises off the news cycles. And even if Putin does invade Ukraine, (which I doubt), why is that any business of ours? We have NO national interest in Ukraine. He has already won the one thing he was really interested in, that being, keeping Ukraine out of NATO. And why wouldn’t he be concerned about that? If Cuba was getting ready to establish alliance with China, would not our own government rush troops to Florida, and threaten an invasion, if this were to happen? This whole “Russian invasion” thing is a red herring.
Add to that the fact that Ukrainian Pres is telling Biden to shut up and stop stirring up “stuff”.
A very convenient crisis.
Since it was always the American media and the Democrats, not Trump who is in collusion with the Russians, since they can no longer use COVID to cower the American people and keep them locked down without energy, Putin has agreed to rev up mischief in the Ukraine, probably to take attention off the real Hillary Russian collusion bomb that is now about to be dropped. Putin scratches Joe’s back, Joe kisses Putin’s backside,,,,the place where he keeps his wallet, now stuffed with Biden Directed American Oil revenue that should have stayed here in American where it get burned into the environment anyway, but the cost in dollars and the cost of the extra pollution of transporting it here from Russian could have been saved. No matter how you add it up, both the Russians and Bidens got more power and richer, while WE THE PEOPLE got to pay the price. Maybe this time in American lives.
AND why is it, that Russia’s even TELLING US WHAT they plan to do, and when?
This is all a smokescreen to make Biden seem tough on Putin. Biden has enough problems here in the US he should be taking care of. If this Russian invasion happens he’ll blame that on the hi price of gas, and not his failed energy policies.
We are only a year into this administration!! Scary!!
NOTHING on this earth, can make biden seem Tough with putin…
Sorry, this is all political theater. Beijing Biden desperately trying to divert from his complete incompetence on every issue we face by building up this Russian invasion ****. Sure, Putin wants to beat up the Ukraine for multiple reasons, but this could have been settled with minimum compromise and little fanfare weeks ago. Biden wants to make a big production of it so he can claim he averted world freaking war three with the Ruskies. I hate to tell the doddering old fool but he could invent a cure to cancer and still not have a chance of re-election.
50 years in washington and this feckless racist crime family has sold out america as we know it.
his son is an absolute traitor with a sex addiction and crack addiction who had his laptops stolen why is he not in jail?
why is joe not in jail or hitlary and bill?
i have had enough of weak feckless presidents in my life time jimmah carter , bill and hilary clinton , barry sotero and now joe biden sotero.
Why are they not in jail?? BECAUSE Of our corrpt and rotten to the core injustice dept…