Biden says Russian attack on Ukraine still possible

“We are ready to respond firmly to a Russian attack in Ukraine, which continues to be an option”, Biden said.

During an address by the White House on Tuesday, Biden said reports that Russia has withdrawn some forces from its border with Ukraine have not yet been verified by Washington.

For the citizens of Russia: you are not our enemy, and I don't believe you want a bloody, devastating war against Ukraine”, he said.

President Biden said the United States “does not want direct confrontation with Russia”, but he added that if Russia attacks Americans in Ukraine, “we will respond strongly to”.
The American president said the US and NATO allies are prepared whatever will happen and warned that Russia would pay a high economic price if it starts conquering Ukraine.

Russia has reportedly withdrawn several troops from the Ukrainian border after conducting military exercises. The defence ministry reported that some forces have returned to their bases.

Earlier Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready for talks with the US and NATO on military transparency, restrictions on missile deployments and other security issues.

Beiden, however, expressed scepticism about Russia's intentions. The American president warned that if Russia invades Ukraine, the US “will gather the world to oppose Russian aggression”.

Meanwhile, in terms of Russia's security requirements, Biden said there are ways to address them together with the security concerns of the US and NATO.

Biden said the number of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border is 150,000. Earlier, Washington had said that this figure was 130,000 and has said it could be a signal that Moscow is preparing to invade Ukraine.

After the announcement by the Russian side has withdrawn several troops from the border, Western officials said it provides hope for the crisis to be resolved diplomatically.

Secretary - General NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said the alliance has yet to see signals on the ground supporting the Russian claim, even though it said there are indicators from Moscow that it is willing to continue dialogue and has created space for hope that this crisis can be avoided.

There are signals from Moscow that diplomacy must continue. This gives us room for prudent optimism. But, so far, we have not seen any sign of the expansion of the situation on the ground by the Russian side”, Stoltenberg said on February 15th.