The American president met Sunday with his Ukrainian counterpart, to reaffirm Washington’s support for Kiev against Moscow.
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The war of words continues. US President Joe Biden assured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Sunday January 2 that the United States and its allies “will respond energetically” if Russia invaded Ukraine. “President Biden has made it clear that the United States and its allies will respond vigorously if Russia further invades Ukraine.”White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Biden also highlighted Washington’s commitment “to the principle of ‘nothing about you without you'”, apparently referring to the need to include Ukraine in the negotiations on its own future. “We appreciate the unwavering support for Ukraine”, Zelensky reacted on Twitter. “We spoke of the joint actions of Ukraine, the United States and its partners to maintain peace in Europe and prevent the situation from worsening.”.
On January 9 and 10, Russia and the United States will have talks on Ukraine in Geneva. Led by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and her Russian counterpart Sergei Riabkov, they will be followed on January 12 by a Russia-NATO meeting, then on January 13 by a meeting within the framework of the OSCE.
Washington and its European allies accuse Moscow of threatening Ukraine with a new invasion, following that of Crimea in 2014, and of fomenting a pro-Russian separatist war that erupted that same year in the east. Some 100,000 Russian soldiers are massed near the country’s border. For Moscow, Russia’s security requires the prohibition of any NATO expansion, perceived as an existential threat, and the end of Western military activities near Russian borders, an area it considers to fall within its area. influence.