Joe Biden ruled out that Putin contemplates “even remotely” using nuclear weapons, although he stressed that he is focused on “trying to convince the world that he has the ability to change the dynamics in Europe.”
The president of United States, Joe Biden affirmed this Friday that he is convinced that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will attack Ukraine And you’ve already made that decision.
“At this moment I am convinced that he has already made a decision,” Biden said at a conference press at the White House when asked if he believes that the Russian president has already adopted a resolution on the matter.
the american president He ruled out that Putin contemplates “even remotely” using nuclear weapons, although he stressed that he is focused on “trying to convince the world that he has the ability to change the dynamics in Europe.”
He recalled that currently Russian soldiers surround Ukraine from different parts of the common border and from Belarus.
“We believe that Russian forces are planning to attack Ukraine in the next week, the next few days. We believe that they will attack the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, a city of 2.8 million innocent inhabitants”, he detailed.
Biden and Ukrainian authorities
Asked if the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, should leave his country in the event of a Russian invasion, Biden indicated that “it may be a wise choice.”
For this reason, he justified that the US is giving an account of Moscow’s alleged plans: “Not because we want a conflict, but because we are going to do everything in our power to eliminate the reason that Russia can use to invade Ukraine and keep them from moving.”
In that sense, He insisted that Russia is seeking to create a pretext and relies on disinformation to justify an attack on the neighboring country.
Biden warned that if Russia finally invades Ukrainian territory it will be “responsible” for an “unnecessary and catastrophic” war that it has chosen to carry out.
Throughout his speech, the US president emphasized the “unity” between the US and its allies against Russia and once again threatened to impose sanctions on Moscow in the event of an attack on Ukraine.
However, Biden left the door open to diplomacy, since, in his opinion, “it is not too late to de-escalate and return to the negotiating table.”
Biden had a joint call with transatlantic leaders on Friday about the likelihood of “further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.
“Together they expressed their deep concern about the continued mobilization of Russian forces, reiterated their strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and spoke of the importance of further economic assistance to Ukraine,” the note said.
The White House indicated that the allies promised to continue betting on diplomacy to reduce tension, as they prepare to impose “rapid and coordinated economic costs” on Russia, “if it opts for more conflict”
They also discussed the efforts to guarantee “the defense and security” of NATO’s eastern flank.
Apart from Biden, the presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and of the European Council, Charles Michel, participated in that call; and the leaders of France, Emmanuel Macron, of Germany, Olaf Sholz, of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.
There were also the British Prime Ministers, Boris Johnson; Canadian, Justin Trudeau; Italian, Mario Draghi; and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.