US President Joe Biden tweeted on Friday: “At this time, I believe he has made the decision to (invade Ukraine).” His remarks went far beyond a previous US assessment in which the president and his aides said they did not know whether Putin had made a final decision on the invasion. Now they are expressing their determination. US officials have said Russia has launched the biggest shelling in the region since World War II.
Amid some skepticism over the alarming US assessment, Biden explained that the US is “cannibalizing Russia’s plans . . . not because we want conflict, but because we want Russia to justify an invasion of Ukraine.” They are doing everything in their power to remove any cause.” While Biden said “it is not too late (for Russia) to be back on the negotiating table”, Putin has offered to go down the path of negotiation “under the condition that all questions be considered together”. Russia’s main proposals”. Those proposals include an iron-clad commitment that Ukraine will not be drawn into a NATO member and that NATO forces will be pulled back from Eastern Europe. US and NATO has rejected them.
Washington and Moscow have tentatively agreed on Wednesday talks between Foreign Minister Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but Biden warned they would stop if Russia attacked Ukraine earlier.
