Joe Biden promises, once again, a response from the United States and its allies in the event of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia
The Ukrainian president praised Washington’s “unwavering support” after the American president assured “that the United States and its allies will respond vigorously if Russia invades Ukraine further”.
The year 2002 has barely started, but Joe Biden does not intend to tone down on the Ukrainian dossier. "President Biden has made it clear that the United States and its allies will respond vigorously if Russia further invades Ukraine," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement after a phone call. , Sunday January 2, between the American president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We appreciate the continued support for Ukraine [from the United States]," Zelensky wrote on Twitter. We spoke of the joint actions of Ukraine, the United States and its partners to maintain peace in Europe and prevent the situation from worsening. "
Ukraine talks this January
According to the White House spokeswoman, Biden assured Zelensky of Washington's willingness to include Ukraine in negotiations over its own future. On January 9 and 10, Russia and the United States will have talks on Ukraine in Geneva. Led by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman and her Russian counterpart Sergei Riabkov, they will be followed on January 12 by a Russia-NATO meeting, then on January 13 by a meeting within the framework of the Organization. for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Last Friday, Joe Biden had already assured to have again warned the Russian president against an attempted invasion of Ukraine during a telephone interview the day before: "I clearly said to President Putin that we would adopt sanctions. severe and that we would increase our presence in Europe, among our NATO allies ”. "We have been clear: he cannot, I repeat, he cannot invade Ukraine," Biden insisted.
It was the second telephone conversation between the two heads of state in three weeks, amid tensions over the mobilization of Russian troops on Ukraine's eastern border.
"Defuse tensions in the Donbass"
This Sunday, the American leader also "expressed his support for confidence-building measures to defuse tensions in the Donbass and for active diplomacy to advance the implementation of the Minsk agreements," according to Ms. Psaki. Under these agreements, concluded under the aegis of France and Germany, Ukraine agreed to carry out political reforms and Russia to end its support for pro-Russian separatist rebels. Washington and its European allies accuse Moscow of threatening Ukraine with a new invasion, following that of Crimea in 2014, and of instigating a pro-Russian separatist war that erupted that same year in the eastern part of the country. Some 100,000 Russian soldiers are massed near the Ukrainian border.
For Moscow, Russia's security requires the prohibition of any NATO enlargement, perceived as an existential threat, and the end of Western military activities near Russian borders, an area it considers to fall within its area. influence. According to the Kremlin, Putin said he was "satisfied" with Thursday's 50-minute exchange, while saying that further sanctions against Moscow would be "a colossal mistake."
For more than a month, Russia has been accused by the West of having massed tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border, with a view to possible military intervention against Kiev. On December 25, Moscow announced that more than 10,000 Russian troops returned to their bases after month-long exercises in southern Russia near the border.