Biden threatens Putin with personal sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine

The United States on Tuesday warned Moscow of harmful sanctions, including measures aimed at Vladimir Putin personally, if an invasion of Ukraine continues, as Russian troops gather around the pro-Western country began new exercises.

Tensions seemed to be rising, and the White House said the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine “remains imminent”.

President Joe Biden warns that such a move would lead to “enormous consequences” and even “change the world”, President Joe Biden said he would consider adding direct sanctions against Putin for a series of measures being drafted.

“Yes. I would see it,” Biden said when asked by reporters in Washington about targeting the Russian president, whom opponents have long accused of possessing gigantic, secret wealth.

A senior US official presented economic sanctions “with massive consequences” that go far beyond previous measures taken in 2014 after Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimean region.

New measures would include restrictions on the export of high-tech US equipment in artificial intelligence, quantum computers and the aerospace sector, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

“What we are talking about are sophisticated technologies that we design and produce,” and cutting them off would hit Putin’s strategic ambitions to industrialize his economy quite hard, “the official said.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson reiterated the threat, saying the sanctions would be “heavier than anything we have ever done.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would speak by telephone with Putinon on Friday to seek “clarification” on Moscow’s intentions.

New Russian military exercises One day after Washington said it was preparing 8,500 US troops for possible deployment to strengthen NATO forces in Europe, the Russian military announced that it was conducting new exercises involving 6,000 troops near Ukraine and in the Crimea. the region.

The exercises included shooting exercises with fighter jets, bombers, air defense systems and ships from the Black Sea and Caspian fleets, the Ministry of Defense said.

According to US Western officials, the Kremlin has already deployed more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders, with reinforcements arriving from all over Russia.

“We continue to see the accumulation of significant forces,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

Washington also warned Russia’s ally Belarus that its authoritarian government would “face a swift and decisive response” if it helps Moscow invade Ukraine.

“If an invasion were to continue from Belarus, if Russian troops were to be permanently stationed on their territory, NATO may well need to re-evaluate our own strength in the countries bordering Belarus,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

The United States and its EU allies accuse Russia of trying to boost European stability by threatening an invasion of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic seeking to join NATO and other Western institutions.

Moscow denies plans to invade the country, where in addition to conquering Crimea, it supports separatist forces in the east.

Russia instead blames the West for the tension and has presented a list of demands, including a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO and that NATO forces that already exist in the former Soviet bloc will withdraw.

Energy threat The senior US official said that “contingency plans” are being prepared to get Europe through the winter if Russia goes to press for energy supplies.

The White House announced on Tuesday that Biden would meet with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on January 31 to discuss, among other things, “ensuring the stability of global energy supplies”.

Washington and its European allies are searching global markets for alternative energy sources, even as Europe is already struggling with soaring energy prices in the middle of winter.

“If Russia decides to arm its supply of natural gas or crude oil, it would not be without consequences for the Russian economy,” the US official told reporters.

Although the European Union derives about 40 percent of its supplies from Russia, Moscow is also heavily dependent on energy sales, which means “it is interdependent,” the official said.

Attempts to negotiate Negotiations this month have failed to ease tensions, although Washington and Moscow have agreed to continue talks.

In addition to the Macron-Putintalks, the French government said Russian and Ukrainian officials would meet, along with French and German counterparts, in Paris next week.

Washington has promised written responses to Moscow’s demands this week, while already making it clear that it refuses to veto Russia’s accession to Ukraine.

But the crisis has exposed divisions in the West.

The new government in Germany has faced criticism from Kiev for its refusal to send defensive weapons to Ukraine, and hesitated over one of the toughest economic sanctions under discussion – to cut Moscow off from the global SWIFT payment system.

Ukraine’s military is heavily overrun by Russia, and Biden reiterated that he “has no intention of deploying US or NATO forces in Ukraine.”

However, the United States has stepped up arms shipments.

At a ceremony for the latest shipment that arrived in Kiev, the American charge d’affaires Kristina Kvien said “our preference is diplomacy.”

But in the event of an attack from Russia, “the Kremlin will face strong resistance, the losses for Russia will be great.”

(AFP)