Leaders underscored their continued assist for Ukraine, together with by offering safety help.
Washington:
President Joe Biden and European allies mentioned Russia’s “brutal” conflict in Ukraine on Monday, kicking off a vital week within the Western standoff with Moscow that can see Biden go to Poland after attending NATO and EU summits.
Biden hosted the decision, lasting slightly below one hour, with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson “to debate their coordinated responses,” the White Home stated.
“The leaders mentioned their severe considerations about Russia’s brutal techniques in Ukraine, together with its assaults on civilians,” a White Home assertion stated.
“They underscored their continued assist for Ukraine, together with by offering safety help to the courageous Ukrainians who’re defending their nation from Russian aggression, and humanitarian help to the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who’ve fled,” it stated.
On Wednesday, Biden will depart on probably the most momentous overseas journey of his presidency thus far. He attends the dual summits on Thursday in Brussels, then meets President Andrzej Duda in Poland, on the frontline of the West’s confrontation with Russia, Saturday.
Russia’s conflict is about to enter its second month, and US and Western allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow, crippling the ruble and inventory market, whereas going after President Vladimir Putin’s rich supporters.
On the bottom in Ukraine, Western-supplied weapons, backed by years of coaching and funding, have helped the nation’s navy to bloody the Russian invaders on a number of fronts.
White Home Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that Biden’s mission was to ensure the West maintains closed ranks.
“Unity has been entrance and heart for the president,” Psaki stated. “Unity with our European counterparts, unity amongst NATO, unity among the many G7. And that does not occur accidentally. And so, popping out of this what the president is hoping to realize is sustained coordination and a unified response to the continued escalatory actions of Putin.”
Nevertheless, with the conflict beginning to appear to be a stalemate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is making more and more determined appeals for the West to do extra.
– Exhausting choices –
What these extra steps might be stays removed from apparent.
One large gap within the sanctions regime is China, the world’s second greatest financial system. Beijing is refusing even to sentence ally Russia and a virtually two-hour speak between Biden and his Chinese language counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday appeared to end in no change.
Whereas the sanctions have despatched extreme shockwaves by way of Russia’s financial system, US and particularly European economies — which rely closely on Russian power imports — are likewise susceptible.
The US and Britain have already introduced their very own bans on Russian oil imports. A wider ban by EU international locations would mark an enormous escalation hurting Moscow — but in addition Western shoppers.
Brent North Sea crude traded at $114.55 a barrel early Monday and earlier this month hit $139, up from about $79 at the start of the yr.
A broad oil embargo “will hit everybody,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned.
Neither is there a simple path to considerably upgrading Ukraine’s navy.
Zelensky is pleading for extra highly effective instruments past the efficient however restricted anti-tank rockets and Stinger missiles used to hit low flying plane.
However Biden has firmly rejected Zelensky’s requires a NATO-imposed no-fly zone, saying this is able to require the USA to go to conflict in opposition to Russia.
The alliance has additionally stumbled over a failed push by Poland to ship Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine by way of a US air base. Once more, Washington stated this is able to threat Russia declaring that NATO had actively entered the conflict.
Now, there’s rising dialogue about furnishing Ukraine with one other piece of Russian-origin know-how — the S-300 anti-aircraft system. This may be a step up for Ukraine’s defenders, as a result of the missiles can hit planes at excessive altitude.
Slovakia says it’s prepared to supply the system it has in its arsenal to Ukraine, however provided that NATO supplies a substitute for its personal protection.
One factor Biden will not be doing this week, the White Home says, is making a visit to Kyiv himself.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, together with the Czech and Slovenian prime ministers, traveled to the embattled capital final week. However “there are not any plans to journey into Ukraine,” Psaki stated, citing safety considerations.
There may be hypothesis, nonetheless, that Biden may meet with a few of the almost 3.5 million refugees who’ve fled Ukraine whereas he is in Poland.
Psaki stated that the refugee challenge could be “a key element” of his journey.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
