Russia will 'move in' on Ukraine: Biden
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US President Joe Biden holds a press conference at the beginning of his second year in office, and reviews the crisis with Russia over Ukraine in addition to the internal crises.
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US President Joe Biden holds a formal news conference in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, DC, January 19, 2022 (Reuters)
President Vladimir Putin of Russia does not want full-blown war in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said Wednesday during his formal news conference on the eve of his one-year anniversary in the White House, threatening that Putin would "pay a dear price" if he moves forward with a military incursion.
He also asserted his belief that Russia is preparing to take action on Ukraine, though he does not think the Kremlin has made a final decision.
"I'm not so sure that he is certain what is he going to do," Biden said. He added, "My guess is he will move in."
He additionally threatened Russia with sanctions if it takes any action against Ukraine, suggesting that he would limit Moscow's access to the international banking system.
"Russia will be held accountable if it invades," Biden said. "They'll pay a stiff price."
According to the Democrat, the standoff over Ukraine could "easily get out of hand," which he underlined he feared, adding that he was open to another summit with his Russian counterpart.
"What I'm concerned about is this could get out of hand, very easily get out of hand, because of... the borders of Ukraine and what Russia may or may not do," he said.
He did not shy away from noting that this could drag into a nuclear war, saying he was hoping Putin understood "he is short of a full-blown nuclear war," and adding that his counterpart was not "in a very good position to dominate the war."
Biden refuses Russia's call to stop NATO's expansion East
He renewed the US rejection of Russia's demands that NATO not expand eastward; however, he said there was a very slight chance that Ukraine will join the alliance, to begin with.
On the other hand, the US leader said he was spending much time trying to keep NATO allies "on the same page" in confronting Russia.
Biden later in the news conference clarified he was referring to non-military action, such as a cyberattack, that would be met with a similar reciprocal response.
Biden's comments came hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a visit to the former Soviet state, accused Russia of planning to reinforce the more than 100,000 troops the West is saying Russia deployed along the Ukrainian border. Blinken alleged that the number could double.
He also said Washington and Brussels would not provide Moscow with a written response to its demands, while Russia underlined Tuesday that it rejected fresh talks on Ukraine unless the West responded to its demands.
Russia is facing US-European allegations of a military buildup on its shared borders with Ukraine, and the two sides to the row held talks in Geneva to sort out their differences.
NATO and the US were "reluctant" when it came to promising that Ukraine would not become party to the alliance, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia has been demanding a written commitment that Ukraine would never be able to join NATO and that the alliance would not place any military equipment in certain countries in the region surrounding Russia.
The Kremlin sees that it is best for Russian security that the alliance does not expand eastward and that Russia does not have any Western military activity in its vicinity.
