Biden threatens Putin with sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine on Reuters

Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland and Dmitry Antonov

WASHINGTON / MOSCOW (Reuters) – Western leaders have stepped up preparations for any Russian military action in Ukraine on Tuesday, holding talks on security of energy supplies, and said President Joe Biden would consider imposing direct sanctions on President Vladimir Putin.

Tensions remain high on Monday after NATO said https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nato-sends-ships-jets-eastern-europe-ukraine-crisis-2022-01-24 strengthen with more ships and fighter jets in the face of the accumulation of troops near Russia’s border with Ukraine.

Russia has denied any wrongdoing and said it was “concerned”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s move that the crisis was driven by US and NATO actions, not the creation of Russian troops.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised video statement on Tuesday evening that he had asked his countrymen to calm down and that they were working on a meeting between him and the leaders of Russia, Germany and France.

“There are no pink glasses, no children’s excitement, not everything is simple … But there is hope,” he said.

Biden reiterated that there were no plans to send US troops to a non-NATO country, but said he would consider imposing direct sanctions on Putin, saying that if it invaded Russia, it would have “dire consequences”.

Journalists have asked Biden if he would personally see Putin punished if he invaded Ukraine.

“Yes,” he said. “I’d see that.”

A U.S. aircraft carrying military equipment and ammunition landed in Kiev on Tuesday, the third shipment of a $ 200 million security package to protect Ukraine.

The U.S. Department of Defense says about 8,500 U.S. troops have been placed on high alert and awaiting orders to deploy NATO’s eastern wing. Biden said Tuesday he could move troops in the near future.

Western leaders say unity is key, even as differences between European nations have emerged as the best answer.

“It is absolutely essential that the West be united now, that our unity will be much more effective now in the fight against all attacks in Russia,” said Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom https://www.reuters.com/world/ uk / uk-urges -european-allies-ready-russia-sanctions-over-ukraine-2022-01-25 has told parliament urging “our European friends” to be willing to extend sanctions as soon as there is an incursion.

He said Britain was discussing with the US whether Russia could ban a global SWIFT payment system.

In Washington, Biden administration officials said the United States was talking to major energy-producing countries and companies around the world about diverting supplies to Europe https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-talks -energy-producers- supply-europe-if-russia-invades-ukraine-2022-01-25 If Russia invades Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters in a call, officials did not name the countries or companies involved in the European supply protection talks, but said they include a wide range of suppliers, including liquid dealers.

“We have been working to identify additional volumes of non-Russian natural gas from various parts of the world, from North Africa and the Middle East to Asia and the United States,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

The EU is dependent on Russia for about a third of its gas supply. Any suspension of Russian imports would exacerbate the energy crisis caused by shortages.

MILITARY MOVEMENTS

Russia has tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine and is demanding security from the West, including a promise that NATO will never accept Ukraine. Moscow sees the former Soviet Republic as a buffer between Russia and NATO countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, said in a phone call with Putin on Friday that he would ask for information on Russia’s plans for Ukraine.

Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that Moscow would pay a high price if it attacked Ukraine.

Political advisers from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will meet in Paris on Wednesday under the so-called ‘Normandy format’ to find ways to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists.

Scholz defended Germany’s pursuit of Western countries to send deadly weapons to Kyiv in the face of a Russian invasion, citing historical reasons for Berlin’s prudence.

The tension over Ukraine in the financial markets and the price of oil has been noticeable in recent days. An escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine would further increase the energy costs of many countries, while keeping inflation rates higher for longer, said Gita Gopinath, the first deputy director of the International Monetary Fund.

The United States has pledged more than $ 650 billion in security assistance to Ukraine in the last year and a total of more than $ 2.7 billion since 2014, when Russia took over the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

To date, NATO has about 4,000 troops in multinational battalions in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, supported by tanks, air defenses and intelligence and surveillance units.