The Press Secretary said the summit would happen after a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later this week, provided that Moscow “does not proceed with military action”.
Photo: IANS
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that President Joe Biden has “accepted in principle” a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Psaki’s confirmation late Sunday night of a potential Biden-Putin summit followed a statement by the Elysee Palace in France saying the two Presidents have “accepted in principle” a virtual meeting brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron, who held separate phone calls with Biden and Putin on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.
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The Press Secretary said the summit would happen after a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later this week, provided that Moscow “does not proceed with military action”.
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“We are always ready for diplomacy. We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war. And currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon,” Psaki said in a statement
The latest development came as the Biden administration estimates that Russia has amassed up to 190,000 troops around Ukraine, including separatist forces in the conflict-hit Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.
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