Washington: US President Joe Biden announced tough new sanctions on Russia for “beginning” an invasion of Ukraine but said there was still time to avoid war, even as Vladimir Putin signaled plans to send troops beyond Russia s borders.
Russia s upper house, the Federation Council, gave Putin unanimous approval to deploy “peacekeepers” to two breakaway Ukrainian regions now recognized by Moscow as independent, and potentially into other parts of Ukraine.
Biden announced what he called the “first tranche” of sanctions, including steps to starve Russia of financing and target financial institutions and its “elites.”
But he left the door open to a final effort at diplomacy to avert a bloody full-scale Russian invasion.
“There s no question that Russia is the aggressor, so we re clear eyed about the challenges were facing,” the president said.
“Nonetheless, there is still time to avert the worst case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people.”
Biden s address followed a wave of sanctions announced by Britain and the European Union, after Putin recognized the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk rebel republics.
Germany also announced it was halting certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
Putin s plans remained unclear, but Western officials have been warning for weeks he has been preparing for an all-out invasion of Ukraine, a move that could spark a catastrophic war in Europe.
– Rejection of diplomacy –
The Biden administration signaled it no longer believes that Russia is serious about avoiding conflict, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had canceled a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov scheduled for later in the week.
“Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting,” Blinken said.
Speaking to journalists, Putin said the Minsk peace agreements on Ukraine s conflict no longer existed and he recognized claims by the separatists to more territory than they currently control.
But he added that the deployment of Russian troops would “depend on the specific situation… on the ground” and appeared to offer Ukraine a way out by giving up on its hopes to join the US-led NATO military alliance.
“The best solution… would be if the current Kyiv authorities themselves refused to join NATO and maintained neutrality,” Putin said.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had “every indication” that Moscow “continues to plan for a full-scale attack on Ukraine.”
Kyiv showed no sign of backing down to Moscow, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba meeting Biden to appeal for more military aid. AFP
