Ukraine Issue
Ukraine Issue: Joe Biden accepts joint summit with Vladimir Putin
Washington/UNI/Sputnik: US President Joe Biden is open to hold a joint summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, provided that there is no "assault on Ukraine" in the coming days, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
The Elysee Palace said on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron had proposed that Putin and Biden hold a joint summit, and both sides have accepted the idea in principle.
The French presidency said after Macron's Sunday phone talks with Putin and, separately, Biden, that the agenda of the summit is to be prepared by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their upcoming meeting on February 24.
"Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov are scheduled to meet later this week in Europe, provided Russia does not proceed with military action. President Biden accepted in principle a meeting with President Putin following that engagement, again, if an invasion hasn't happened," Psaki said in a Sunday statement.
She added that Washington is open for diplomacy but will impose "severe consequences" on Russia if it decides to "choose war."
"And currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon," Psaki claimed.
In the past few months, Western countries and Kiev have been accusing Russia of preparing for an alleged "invasion" of Ukraine. Moscow has denied these accusations, repeatedly stating that it is not threatening anyone and at the same time expressing strong concerns over NATO's military activity near the Russian borders, which it deems a threat to its national security.
Russia has pointed out that rising fears of an "invasion" in Ukraine appear to be used as a pretext for advancing NATO's military presence further eastward in Europe.
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