Russia’s attack on Ukraine is still “largely” a possibility, but a diplomatic solution to the crisis is yet to be reached, US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
“As long as there is hope for a diplomatic solution that prevents the use of force and the unimaginable human suffering that would follow, we will strive for that,” Biden said.
Speaking in the Eastern House of the White House, the US president is cautiously optimistic about Russia’s claims that part of its troops are being withdrawn from the Ukrainian border.
“That would be good, but we haven’t checked it yet,” Biden said, acknowledging that the United States had “not yet obtained evidence” of any withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine’s borders.
“Analysts say they are still in a very precarious position,” Biden said, citing more than 150,000 Russian troops.
Biden reaffirmed that the United States and other NATO countries united in supporting a plan to impose “strong sanctions” on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Biden predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would regret such an attack, which could lead to “self-inflicted injuries.”
Mr Biden said that US forces were supporting NATO’s neighbors in NATO’s defense efforts and recalled Article 5 of the NATO Charter on collective defense. “Note: The United States will fully defend every inch of NATO territory,” Biden added.
“We are not looking for a direct conflict with Russia,” he said. “If Russia attacks the Americans in Ukraine, we will respond strongly. If Russia attacks the United States or its allies [NATO] with asymmetric means, such as disruptive cyber attacks on our companies or critical infrastructure, we are ready to respond. “
Biden also told Americans that the escalation of the conflict would affect them.
“It simply came to our notice then. [Konfliktam] “We can take active steps to ease the pressure on our energy markets. We are coordinating with key energy consumers and producers.”
“I will keep you informed,” Biden said at the end of his speech, suggesting that the situation was far from resolved.
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