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Updated December 7th, 2021 at 08:37 IST

Biden to warn Putin of 'substantial economic countermeasures' if Russia attacks Ukraine

Joe Biden will warn Vladimir Putin that Washington is prepared to impose severe economic countermeasures if Moscow carries out an attack on Ukraine.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
Joe Biden
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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A senior White House official on Monday said that US President Joe Biden will warn his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Washington is prepared to impose severe economic countermeasures if Moscow carries out an attack on Ukraine. According to NBC News, the official informed that during the call Biden will lay out a range of actions that the US and its European allies will take, including additional sanctions, should Russia invade Ukraine. The official also went on to say that Washington believes that Moscow is putting in place the capacity to engage in military action but was unclear whether Putin had made a decision to carry out those plans. 

Further, he added that the US and the European allies have been in “intensive discussions” on what the countries would collectively do if Russia invaded Ukraine, including “substantial economic countermeasures” that would cause “deep economic harm”. When it comes to Ukraine, the official said that the US and its allies have made clear “deep concern” about evidence that Russia is stepping up its planning for significant military action against Ukraine. He declined to say whether the US would take direct military action against Russia if there were an invasion, however, he added that the focus is on using other diplomatic methods. 

“We have had intensive discussions with our European partners about what we would do collectively in the event of a major Russian military escalation in Ukraine,” the official said, as quoted by NBC News.

“We believe that we have a path forward that would involve substantial economic countermeasures by both Europe and the United States that would impose significant and severe economic harm on the Russian economy, should they choose to proceed,” the official added. 

Agenda of Biden-Putin’s virtual meet  

It is to mention that the statement by the White House official comes ahead of Biden and Putin’s video conference on 7 December, Tuesday. Previously, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said that the bilateral ties between both nations would be discussed. The spokesperson also added that the presidents will go through the implementation of the agreements that they reached during the Geneva summit on 16 June 2021. 

Peskov also stated that after discussing the bilateral ties, Biden and Putin are expected to address the issues which have been “making noise” recently. Kremlin spokesperson then mentioned that such topics would include the tensions surrounding Ukraine and the advancement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) towards Russia’s borders. ​​Kremlin spokesperson added that the Russian President’s initiative on security guarantees might also be addressed during the Tuesday video conference between the two presidents.

(Image: AP)


 

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Published December 7th, 2021 at 08:37 IST

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