Biden: Any Russian Troop Movement into Ukraine Would Trigger Severe Action

U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to clear up any misunderstanding surrounding remarks made Wednesday, saying he has made very clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that any movement of Russian troops across Ukraine's border will be treated as an invasion and will trigger severe consequences. VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.

With Ukraine bracing for a potential Russian invasion, U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is fully aware of the consequences.

“I've been absolutely clear with President Putin. He has no misunderstanding. If any — any — assembled Russian units move across Ukrainian border, that is an invasion. But it will be met with a severe and coordinated economic response, discussed in detail with our allies, as well as laid out very clearly for President Putin.”

Biden raised eyebrows the day before during a White House press conference when he said a “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukraine could trigger a debate among NATO allies on how to respond.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy took to Twitter to respond to Biden’s original remark, saying there are “no small nations and no minor incursions.”

German Marshall Fund’s Michael Kimmage told VOA he does not consider Biden’s impromptu remark to be damaging, because the U.S. leader’s overall message to Putin has been very clear.

Michael Kimmage, German Marshall Fund:

“I think what Biden was trying to say, President Biden was trying to say, is that there's going to be a graduated response calibrated to the severity of a Russian move which, you know, I think boils down to common sense.”

In Berlin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Germany’s foreign minister and outlined the high stakes surrounding a possible Russian invasion during a speech Thursday.

The top U.S. diplomat said a Russian invasion would violate long held principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, triggering a major land war in Europe that would likely leave tens of thousands of people dead.

Antony Blinken, Secretary of State: “To allow Russia to violate those principles with impunity, would drag us all back to a much more dangerous and unstable time when this continent and this city were divided in two, separated by no-man's lands, patrolled by soldiers with a threat of all-out war, hanging over everyone's heads. It would also send a message to others around the world, that these principles are expendable. And that too would have catastrophic results.”

Blinken started his diplomatic tour in Kyiv, meeting with Ukraine’s president on Wednesday, and travels from Berlin to Geneva to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.

While the West has rejected Russia’s demand for a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO, analysts say there are plenty of security issues to be discussed.

William Taylor, United States Institute of Peace:

“There are some things that are not on the table, but there are some things like missile deployments in Europe, like military exercises again on both sides. Missile deployments and NATO missile deployments in Russia, military exercises by NATO, military exercises by Russia, those kind of things can be discussed. And if President Putin wants to climb down, look for a non-violent way out, this is on the table.”

With Russia releasing video of its forces conducting drills near the Ukraine border, experts say Moscow would likely come to regret an invasion, which could turn into a long, costly war.

[balanciergu]

Thanks to the US and Great Britain for defending Freedom! -- from an ethnic Russian.

[cainfire]

Anyone remember James Bakers promise to Gorbachev, that Nato would not advance to the east. I.E.-Turning to German unification, Baker assures Gorbachev that “neither the president nor I intend to extract any unilateral advantages from the processes that are taking place, ” and that the Americans understand the importance for the USSR and Europe of guarantees that “not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction.” Baker argues in favor of the Two-Plus-Four talks using the same assurance: “We believe that consultations and discussions within the framework of the ‘two+four’ mechanism should guarantee that Germany’s unification will not lead to NATO’s military organization spreading to the east.” Gorbachev responds by quoting Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski: “that the presence of American and Soviet troops in Europe is an element of stability.”