Wednesday, December 8th, 2021
Biden tightened the tone
Putin wants to “defend Russia’s security”
After yesterday’s video summit, US President Biden tightened his tone with Moscow on the Ukraine conflict. In the event of an attack, Russia must expect a clear response from the United States. President Putin, on the other hand, affirmed “the right to defend his security”.
According to his own account, US President Joe Biden has threatened Russian head of state Vladimir Putin with unprecedented sanctions by the United States in the event of an attack on Ukraine. In the event of a Russian attack, the US would strike back with sanctions “as he has never seen it before,” said Biden with a view to Putin – one day after the two presidents’ video summit. Putin had recently spoken out and stressed that Moscow reserves the right to “defend Russia’s security”.
“Russia pursues a peaceful foreign policy, but has the right to defend its security,” Putin said at a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Putin did not address the Russian troop movements on the border with Ukraine.
But he stressed that it would be “criminal inaction” if Russia did not act in the face of the approach of NATO. The prospect of Ukraine joining NATO is “viewed with concern”. Putin also praised the talks with Biden as “constructive”. He said the two would continue their dialogue.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj has meanwhile rated the video summit as fundamentally positive. “I think that Ukraine’s victory is that the US has always supported Ukraine, our sovereignty, our independence,” said Zelenskyi, according to media reports in Kiev. The 43-year-old emphasized Biden’s special personal commitment to the Eastern European country. However, Zelenskyi will only comment on details of the conversation after his phone call with Biden, which is expected on Thursday, it said.
Biden and Putin had exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict at a video summit on Tuesday. Russia has gathered tens of thousands of soldiers on the border with its neighboring country, which is fueling fears in the West that the Russian army could invade Ukraine. Moscow rejects this and accuses Ukraine of provocations.