Amid ongoing threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, President Biden and Putin agreed to “the principle” of a summit meeting to discuss “security and strategic stability in Europe.” However, the meeting will only take place if Russia holds off on invading Ukraine.
“An adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron told Reuters that Macron had put the proposal to Putin at Biden’s request,” Reuters reported.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will join Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday to discuss the matter, Fox News reports.
“Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a call or meeting between Putin and Biden could be set up at any time, but there were no concrete plans yet for a summit,” Reuters stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron first announced the need for a summit meeting on Sunday in a press release stating that the summit “can only be held at the condition that Russia does not invade Ukraine.”
Biden and Macron spoke on Sunday afternoon.
And just like that, Putin gets a White House summit without removing a single soldier from the border
Meanwhile Biden will try to walk away claiming ‘victory’ that even his yes-men won’t believe
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) February 21, 2022
As Russia continues to make alleged preparations for “a full-scale assault” on Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that President Biden and Putin have accepted the meeting “in principle,” Fox News reports.
“President Biden accepted in principle a meeting with President Putin following that engagement, again, if an invasion hasn’t happened. We are always ready for diplomacy. We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war. And currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon,” Psaki said.
Psaki indicated that the Biden administration is committed to pursuing diplomacy “until the moment an invasion begins.”
“As the President has repeatedly made clear, we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov are scheduled to meet later this week in Europe, provided Russia does not proceed with military action,” Psaki said.
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