by Alexandra Alper and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden predicted on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would launch an offensive against Ukraine, warning Moscow that a Russian invasion would bring an unprecedented response to the heavy toll for Russia and its economy.
This statement comes against a backdrop of growing tensions between the West and Moscow since the deployment in recent months of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian border and two days, Friday in Geneva, of a meeting deemed crucial between the American foreign ministers and Russian.
Speaking at a press conference at the White House, Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin was going to “do something”. “My opinion is that he will invade,” he said.
The American president indicated that the response that the United States and its Western allies will bring to the case could be calibrated on the scale of Russia’s actions, against a backdrop of Washington’s concerns that Moscow has decided to attack it under a few days or a few weeks.
“Russia will be held responsible if it invades – and that will depend on what it does. A minor incursion is one thing (…), but if it does what it is able to do (…) , it will be a disaster for Russia if it invades Ukraine,” Joe Biden said.
During two telephone conversations last month, Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that the United States would take unprecedented sanctions against Russia in the event of an offensive against Ukraine.
The American president indicated on Wednesday that he could organize a summit with his Russian counterpart about the Ukrainian crisis. “It’s always a possibility,” he said of a possible meeting.
Among the measures considered by the White House are restrictions on exports of technological products to Russia to deprive it of products produced throughout the world. (Report Alexandra Alper and Steve Holland; French version Jean Terzian)