US President Joe Biden has not ruled out imposing “personal sanctions” against his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine. Biden told a group of reporters in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.
“If Russia invaded Ukraine, given the massive presence of troops along the border, it would be the largest invasion since World War II. On Tuesday, the US president said such an event would change the world,” US president said Tuesday. Biden added that he would also consider “personal sanctions” against Putin in that case. However, he did not say what those sanctions would entail.
In addition, economic sanctions “with huge consequences” would be imposed on all of Russia, a top US government official said. “Sanctions that will go far beyond those taken in 2014 after Russia invaded Crimea.”
For example, the United States is working on a plan to allow gas and oil producers from the Middle East, North Africa and Asia to supply Europe. At present, Europe is still largely dependent on gas supplies from Russia, which means that European countries are still relatively reluctant to impose sanctions on Russia. By offering an alternative, the US would take away a major trump card from Putin.
Although Russia currently has more than 100,000 troops stationed on its border with Ukraine, the Kremlin still denies any plans to invade the country. The Russian government accuses Washington of escalating tensions by putting thousands of American troops on standby. “It is with great concern that we note these US actions,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
According to him, the US is “de facto”, causing an “exacerbation of tensions”. Washington put up to 8,500 military personnel on alert. They can be ready within five days to bolster NATO’s rapid response force. The force consists of 40,000 soldiers. However, it has not yet been decided to deploy the troops. Biden even said on Tuesday that he “has no intention of sending US or NATO troops to Ukraine for the time being.”