The day after his two-hour interview with Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden toughened his tone even further, in a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, December 8. “I was very clear, if indeed he invades Ukraine”, there will be “Economic consequences as he has never seen”, he told reporters. The American president has for the moment ruled out sending American troops, insofar as Kiev is not a member of NATO, but he has clearly increased the diplomatic pressure on Moscow, accused of massing tens of thousands of soldiers on the border with Ukraine, with a view to attacking the country.
Kiev also received backing on Wednesday from new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have serious consequences. ” consequences “ on the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. “Our position is very clear, we want the inviolability of borders to be respected by all”, he said in his first interview after taking office. The White House has not made it clear whether Mr. Biden raised this pressure tactic in front of Vladimir Putin, but National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan insisted on it. “Absolutely priority”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Council President Charles Michel agreed on Wednesday during a call, “The need to impose rapid and severe sanctions on Russia” if the military escalation intensified. The United Kingdom and France have also joined the concert of European voices calling on Vladimir Putin for restraint. In Paris, the foreign ministry thus warned Russia of “Strategic and massive consequences” that would be an aggression against Ukraine.
Military intervention for the moment excluded
For its part, Russia denies any belligerent inclination towards its neighbor, from which it annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. But it repeated its categorical opposition to Ukraine’s membership in NATO. Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow had “The right to protect one’s security”, believing that letting NATO approach its borders without reacting would be “Criminal”. “We can only be concerned about the possible admission of Ukraine into NATO, as this would undoubtedly be accompanied by a deployment of military contingents, bases and armaments which threaten us “, he added.
During his meeting with the host of the White House, the Russian head of state notably asked for “Secure legal guarantees” which would prevent Ukraine from joining the Atlantic Alliance. In Washington, Joe Biden ruled that “Sacred obligation” which binds it to the countries of this alliance “Does not extend to Ukraine”, excluding for the moment a military intervention. But he warned that a Russian attack in Ukraine would lead to a strengthening of the US military presence on the territories of NATO members in Eastern Europe.
The American president also “Clearly indicated to Ukraine” that, in this case, the United States would provide “Means of defense”. Kiev will already receive “Small arms and ammunition”, sent this week as part of a support plan approved by Joe Biden, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
Specter of a new confrontation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who for several months has called on his Western allies to support him more, ruled on Wednesday “Positive” the discussions between MM. Biden and Putin. “We are now seeing a real personal reaction (…) of President Biden in the resolution of the conflict “, he congratulated himself. The US and Ukrainian presidents are due to speak by phone on Thursday.
At the end of this call, Joe Biden will consult with the leaders of the “Group of nine from Bucharest”, which brings together Eastern European countries members of NATO, on his exchange with Vladimir Putin and the fears of invasion of Ukraine. This group includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
These tensions raise the specter of a new military confrontation in Ukraine, a poor country in Eastern Europe torn since 2014 by a civil war in the Donbass and other regions of its eastern border. Kiev accuses Russia of supporting the separatists, which Moscow denies. The conflict has claimed more than 13,000 lives.