Joe Biden’s international policy is under fire from Republican critics. It must be said that the president seemed on Wednesday to accredit the idea of a probable next Russian “incursion” in Ukraine, attracting the wrath of the opposition who accuses him of having given Vladimir Putin a “green light” to invade its neighbour.
While, from Kiev, his Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Moscow to choose the “peaceful path”, the President of the United States blew hot and cold. “I think he still doesn’t want a full-scale war,” he said of his Russian counterpart during a press conference at the White House. However, “he will test the West”. “I think he will return” to Ukraine one way or another, he predicted.
Here is Biden’s response on Ukraine/Russia, which distinguishes between a “minor incursion” that would cause divisions in NATO over the response, and an invasion with “disastrous” consequences for Moscow. Republicans accuse him of “emboldening” Putin. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Bfnu05iR1y
— Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) January 20, 2022
Joe Biden also acknowledged that the reaction and unity of Westerners would depend on what Moscow does. “If it’s a minor incursion”, NATO members may be divided on the extent of the response, but if the Russians “do what they can with the forces they have massed on the border , it will be a disaster for Russia,” he insisted. The situation could then “spin out of control”.
The White House takes a step back
Republican tenors immediately accused the Democratic president of having resigned himself to this file. “Joe Biden’s impotence has emboldened Vladimir Putin, and now he has just given Putin the green light to invade Ukraine,” Senator Tom Cotton reacted on Twitter. “So if he only takes parts of Ukraine, our response will be less severe than if he annexes everything?” “, was also indignant his colleague Marco Rubio.
The White House immediately tried to clarify the presidential statement, assuring that it had only established a difference between a “military” offensive on the one hand and “non-military, paramilitary or cyber” on the other hand. “Each of these actions will have its proportional response,” assured a spokesperson. “If Russian military forces cross the border of Ukraine, it will constitute a new invasion” which will lead to a harsh response, the White House also said Thursday, in a desire to put out the fire around Biden’s remarks.
Biden ready to negotiate on Russian demands
Discreet about reprisals in the event of a “minor” incursion, Joe Biden has in any case firmly detailed the consequences of a major invasion. “If they invade, they will pay for it, they will no longer be able to go through the banks, they will not be able to make transactions in dollars”, he warned, also referring to the risk of “heavy” human losses on the battlefield.
The tenant of the White House, however, reached out to Russia’s demands and even said he was ready for a new summit with Vladimir Putin. On the guarantee demanded by the Kremlin that Ukraine will never join NATO, he argued that in fact, it was unlikely that Kiev would become a member in the near future. And on the promise that the West will not deploy strategic weapons on Ukrainian territory, “we can find a solution”, he assured.
After a series of diplomatic talks in Europe last week, Moscow and Washington must try again on Friday to defuse the crisis during a face-to-face in Geneva between Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The American Secretary of State is previously expected this Thursday in Berlin for discussions with Germany, France and the United Kingdom.