GENEVA – US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that any Russian troop movement across Ukraine’s border would constitute an invasion and that Moscow would “pay a heavy price” for such action.
It was the latest effort by the White House to clarify comments Biden made a day earlier when he suggested a “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukrainian territory could result in a more measured response from the United States and its allies.
Facing an avalanche of criticism from Republican lawmakers and Ukrainian officials that Biden’s comments had invited limited military action by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden sought to clarify his remarks at the start of a White House meeting focused on in domestic politics.
Read More: US Sanctions Ukrainian Officials Accused of Aiding Russia
His comments came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was preparing to meet Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday in a high-stakes attempt to ease tensions that appears likely to fail.
Biden said the United States was preparing for Russia to take steps that fell outside the parameters of conventional warfare.
On Wednesday, Biden said he believes Moscow will invade and warned Putin that Russia would pay a “dear price” in lives lost and a possible shutdown of the global banking system if it does.
But Biden also caused consternation among allies by saying the response to a Russian invasion “depends on what you do.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those who expressed concern.
Before traveling to Geneva, Blinken warned in Berlin that there would be a “swift and severe” response from the United States and its allies if Russia sent military forces to Ukraine.
Blinken later accused Russia of threatening the foundation of world order with its buildup of some 100,000 troops near Ukraine.
Russia must face a concerted and severe global response if it invades, he said in a speech in Berlin, the city that symbolized the Cold War divide between East and West.
He later told an audience at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences that Russia’s actions toward Ukraine are an attempt to subvert international norms and just the latest in a series of violations of numerous treaties, agreements and other commitments that Moscow has made. done to respect the sovereignty and territory of other countries.
Blinken earlier met with top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany to project a united front over concerns that Russia may be planning to invade Ukraine. He met with the Ukrainian president in Kiev a day earlier.
Blinken took pains Thursday to emphasize that the United States and its partners were united, noting that American diplomats have held more than 100 meetings with allies in recent weeks “to ensure that we speak and act together with one voice when it comes to Russia”.
In Washington, the Biden administration announced Thursday that it has imposed new sanctions against four Ukrainian officials who administration officials say are part of a Russian-influenced effort to set up the pretext for an invasion.
The sanctions name members of parliament Taras Kozak and Oleh Voloshyn and two former government officials. All four have been intimately involved in the disinformation efforts of Russia’s federal security service, known as the FSB, according to the Treasury.
Russia denies planning an invasion and has in turn accused the West of plotting “provocations” in Ukraine, citing the delivery of weapons to the country by British military transports in recent days, as reported by The Associated Press.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that the Ukrainian and Western talks about an impending Russian attack were a “cover for organizing their own large-scale provocations, including those of a military nature.”
Russia wants binding security guarantees, including a permanent ban on Ukraine’s NATO membership, to which Kiev aspires, and the removal of most of the US and allied military presence in Eastern Europe.
The United States and its European partners say they are willing to consider certain less dramatic gestures, but Russian demands are out of the question and Putin knows they are futile. That, Blinken said, is evidence of Putin’s ulterior motive.
Russia on Thursday announced extensive naval exercises through February, some apparently in the Black Sea, involving more than 140 warships and more than 60 aircraft. Separately, Spain’s defense minister said the country would send two warships to the Black Sea with NATO’s approval.
Amid concerns that Putin will not be moved by sanctions threats, Blinken made a direct appeal to the Russian people to oppose any intervention.
The United States and NATO face a difficult task in Ukraine. Biden has said he does not plan to send combat troops in the event of a new Russian invasion. But he could pursue less dramatic but still risky military options, including supporting a post-invasion Ukrainian resistance.
Read more: US warns there will be swift and harsh response if Russia sends troops to Ukraine
The justification for not directly joining a war between Russia and Ukraine is simple: the United States has no treaty obligation to Ukraine, and war with Russia would be a huge gamble. But doing too little also has risks.
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