Status: 02/21/2022 03:45 a.m
US President Biden is ready to meet with Russian leader Putin on the condition that Russia does not attack Ukraine. The initiative for the summit came from French President Macron.
US President Joe Biden is in principle ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But only as long as no Russian troops cross the Ukrainian border. This was announced by the White House in Washington.
The meeting between the presidents of the USA and Russia is to be prepared by the respective foreign ministers, Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov, at their meeting this Thursday. Lavrov is scheduled to meet his French colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian today.
Sabine Rau, ARD Paris, on Macron’s mediation on the talks between Biden and Putin in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
tagesschau24 11:00 a.m., February 21, 2022
Meeting with all parties involved in the conflict
Biden had previously spoken to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on the phone. He in turn spoke to Putin and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the Kremlin, during the first phone call, Macron and Putin agreed to “facilitate the restoration of the ceasefire and ensure progress in resolving the conflict.” In the conversation, Putin also denounced “provocations” by the Ukrainian army.
Accordingly, following the direct talks between Biden and Putin, Macron proposed a summit meeting “with all those involved” in the conflict. It should be about “security and strategic stability in Europe”. Macron’s office then announced that Putin had also agreed to a meeting.
However, a senior US government official told AFP: “The timing is yet to be determined. The format is yet to be determined, so it’s all fictional.”
Again explosive intelligence information
Shortly before, several media in the USA reported that Biden had had intelligence information about a planned invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine since the weekend. Secret service circles, which were not named further, were referred to as sources. Accordingly, Russian commanders on the Ukrainian border are said to have received orders to attack.
Moscow states that it feels threatened by NATO’s eastward expansion and, according to Western information, has gathered around 150,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. Including the troops of the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, there could be up to 190,000 soldiers. However, Moscow denies any attack plans.
“Avoid crowds”
Violence continues unabated in eastern Ukraine. According to Ukrainian sources, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed by shell fire on Saturday. AFP journalists heard more explosions at the front between separatists and government troops during the night. In one village they saw residents hiding in an earthen cellar. US satellite imaging company Maxar reported more Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian border.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian army and Moscow-backed separatists have been at odds in eastern Ukraine. According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have already been killed, mostly in the separatist area. A peace plan from 2015 mediated by Franco-German mediation is not implemented.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Moscow urged US citizens in Russia to avoid crowds. There are media reports pointing to attacks – in shopping centers, train stations and on larger squares in Moscow and St. Petersburg, among other places.
With information from Florian Mayer, ARD-Studio Washington
Ukraine crisis: US President Biden ready for a meeting
Florian Mayer, ARD Washington, 2/21/2022 8:23 a.m