At the White House, Mr. Biden hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Meanwhile, Putin and President Emmanuel Macron met in Moscow for five hours behind closed door.
Additional U.S. soldiers and weapons are being deployed to Eastern Europe near Russia’s border. President Biden advised Americans in Ukraine that they should get out. He said he didn’t want to see them “get caught in the crossfire.”
According to CBS News’ senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe, Mr. Biden made the comment alongside Scholz. The leaders insisted that their countries were in agreement on the consequences Putin would face if he invades Ukraine.
Mr. Biden stated that “he would pay a heavy cost.”
Germany has been more aggressive than NATO allies in warning Russia about an invasion, which the Russian leader has repeatedly denied.
Nord Stream 2, a nearly 750-mile long natural gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, is a major problem for Germany. Europe is dependent on Russia for three quarters of its natural gas supplies. If the pipeline is open, it’s expected that gas revenue in the tens of millions of dollars will flow back to Russia.
Monday’s statement by Mr. Biden was unambiguous. He stated that if Russia invades Ukraine, ” there won’t be a Nord Stream 2…we will bring an end.”
Scholz did not go so far. He stated that NATO would respond to any Russian invasion together, but Mr. Biden said the U.S. and its allies “not taking different actions, we will take the same steps.”
Dueling war games
The West’s warnings and NATO forces arriving in countries Putin considers his country have not succeeded in persuading Putin to withdraw his troops.
Putin’s government instead announced Monday that it would hold 10-day joint military drills in Belarus, a Russian ally which sits at Ukraine’s northern frontier. Satellite imagery that was released this weekend shows Russian and Belarusian troops, weapons and attack aircraft positioned within 30 miles from Ukrainian soil.
According to Russian officials, six Russian warships are on their way to Black Sea to participate in the massive naval exercises announced by Moscow in January. All Russian naval vessels, from the Atlantic to Pacific to virtually every other part of the globe will be involved in the drills.
According to the Pentagon, Putin has at least 70% of all the necessary forces in place to launch an invasion of Ukraine. John Kirby, a Defense Department spokesperson, said that Putin’s military presence around Ukraine has “well north of 100,000” and is growing.
Reacting to Russian military exercises in Belarus on Tuesday, Ukraine said that it would conduct its own military drills within the same time frame.
As part of American efforts in strengthening the defenses of NATO allies, more U.S. soldiers and machinery have arrived in Poland. The United States has a close relationship with Ukraine. However, the White House says that no American troops will be deployed to the country.
As NATO and Russia continue to bolster their forces in the area, the specter of simultaneous warfare games on both sides of Ukraine’s borders highlights the importance of diplomatic solutions.
Diplomacy at high speed
Putin stated that he is ready to continue negotiations with Macron to stop the crisis spiraling into war with Ukraine. He stated that President Macron had made proposals to deescalate crisis, which could at most create “a foundation” for future steps.
He denied that Russia had any plans to invade Ukraine and agreed to speak with Macron on Tuesday, after Macron’s visit to Kyiv.
Macron stated on Tuesday that he believes his meeting with Putin will help to stop a further escalation in the crisis. However, the Kremlin quickly denied reports that Putin had agreed to cease further military exercises within the region.
However, Putin’s spokesperson did appear Tuesday to address any fears that the thousands Russian troops deployed to Belarus for military exercises in the past weeks might still be there.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said to reporters that no one has ever claimed that Russian troops would be allowed to remain on Belarusian territory. “We are referring to allied exercises. It is understood that the troops will return their permanent places after these exercises are over.”
U.S., European and military leaders try to understand the clues Moscow gives them about Putin’s next steps. Alexander Baunov, a Russian military analyst, told CBS News foreign correspondent Imtiaz Tyab, that Putin uses the threat of military action in certain ways to get his desired outcome: The world powers are negotiating with each other over Putin’s security requirements to avoid war.
Baunov stated that the fear of war was a powerful political tool, and told CBS News to “make Russian requests and Russian concerns listen to.”
Tyab pointed out that this coercive diplomacy has inherent risks. If Russia doesn’t win something soon, Putin might decide to use force to prevent looking weak.
