New Delhi: The US President Joe Biden on Wednesday warned Russia. President Biden said, “Russia would face ‘disaster’ if it launches a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine but appeared to offer some consolations to offset tensions and avoid all-out war.
“I think what you are going to see – is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades and it depends on what it does,” the president said, signaling the concern over repercussions on the US and its allies if it is forced to impose significant economic sanctions on Russia that are likely to cut it off from the international finance market.
The Kremlin has massed some 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, a buildup that the West says is preparation for a war to prevent Ukraine from ever joining the NATO Western security alliance. Russia denies planning an invasion.
Biden and his team have prepared a broad set of sanctions and other economic penalties to impose on Russia in the event of an invasion.
US officials reject limiting NATO expansion as a non-starter, but Biden suggested there could be a deal under which the West might not station nuclear forces in Ukraine.
Visiting Kyiv in a show of support, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia could launch a new attack on Ukraine at “very short notice” but Washington would pursue diplomacy as long as it could, even though it was unsure what Moscow really wanted.
(_Vinayak)