Officials from the United States have suggested that decisions about America’s future strategic stance in Europe could be made in stages. They also warned that if Russia intervened in Ukraine, it would face crippling penalties.
On Saturday, the Biden administration issued new, strong warnings to Russia about the consequences that could befall it if it follows through on threats to attack Ukraine. Officials from the United States have suggested that decisions about America’s future strategic stance in Europe could be made in stages. They also warned that if Russia intervened in Ukraine, it would face crippling penalties.
Officials said the administration would be open to talks with Russia on limiting future offensive missile deployments in Ukraine and limiting US and NATO military drills in Eastern Europe. Nonetheless, they warned that if Russia intervenes in Ukraine, it will face severe economic consequences. These consequences might include considerable restrictions on products exported from the United States to Russia, as well as foreign-made products subject to US jurisdiction. Senior US and Russian officials are set to meet in Switzerland on Monday amid rising tensions over Ukraine.
According to the officials, the US is willing to talk about some, limited areas of its European security posture during those conversations. They did emphasize, however, that any agreements would be reliant on Russia reducing threats to Ukraine, and that no decisions would be made without Ukraine’s or NATO’s assent. They also stated that the United States has no intention of reducing its military presence or armament in Eastern Europe, as Russia has demanded. While the remarks, made on the condition of anonymity to reporters in a White House-organized telephone conference call, were the first to hint at a willingness to compromise on topics unrelated to Ukraine, they were followed by threats of Russian inaction in response to US requests to back off.
