President Joe Biden has said a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have ‘enormous consequences’, and that he would consider personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin if an invasion occurred.
Taking questions from reporters on Tuesday, Biden replied ‘yes’ when asked whether he could see himself imposing sanctions on the Russian president personally in the event of an invasion.
According to the BBC, Biden said an invasion would have ‘enormous consequences worldwide’ and could amount to ‘the largest invasion since World War Two’.
Biden’s comments came as diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France gathered in Paris for talks on the ongoing tensions.
Russia responded angrily to Biden’s remarks. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian parliament, posted on social media site Telegram: ‘Finally, the US leadership has openly said what it wants: Washington wants a loyal Russian president.’
Russia has accused the US and others of ‘escalating tensions’ over the issue, and denies planning to enter Ukraine. However, Moscow has deployed an estimated 100 000 soldiers near the border.
The BBC reports that the Kremlin has said it sees the Western military alliance Nato as a security threat, and is demanding legal guarantees that it will not add new members further east, including neighbouring Ukraine. But the US has said the issue at stake is Russian aggression, not Nato expansion.
[Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/putin-the-president-russia-power-5277284/]