Biden sees a “clear possibility” that Russia invades Ukraine in February and from Moscow they say “they don’t want wars”

The president of United States, Joe Biden, consider that there is a “clear possibility” that Russia will invade Ukraine in February and has communicated this to his Ukrainian counterpart early this Friday morning, Volodymyr Zelensky, during a phone call.

“President Biden has said that there is a distinct possibility that the Russians could invade Ukraine in February,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne wrote on her official Twitter account.

The spokeswoman spoke in this way after denying information published by the CNN network, which quoted an official Ukrainian source according to which Biden had told Zelenski that it was practically confirmed that Russia would invade Ukraine once the ground froze, and who could “plunder” Kiev.

Horne has branded that version “completely false” and has said that Biden he had only communicated his impression that it was possible, but not sure, that Russia invaded the country in February.

In his call with Zelensky, Biden “has reaffirmed the readiness of the United States and its allies and partners to respond decisively if Russia invadese” Ukraine, according to a White House statement.

The US president has informed Zelenski that he is evaluating the possibility of granting “additional macroeconomic support to help the Ukrainian economy, given the pressure that has resulted from the increase in Russian military forces” on the country’s borders.

Zelenskiy has tried to lower the spirits in this regard on Tuesday, denying that the evacuations of diplomatic personnel mean an “imminent escalation” of the conflict with Russia. In the call, both have underlined the principle of not decide “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”, in the context of negotiations with Russia on its security requirements.

“President Biden has expressed the support of the United States for the efforts to resolve the conflict in the Normandy format, and has expressed his hope that the parties’ commitment on January 26 to the terms of the ceasefire of July 2020 help reduce tensions and promote the implementation of the Minsk Agreements,” the White House concluded.

“If it depends on Russia there will be no war”

For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has affirmed this Friday that “if it depends on Russia there will be no war”, in an interview with local media broadcast live.

The head of Russian diplomacy thus responded to a question about whether there will be a war due to tensions with the West and around Ukraine. “If it depends on Russia there will be no war. We don’t want wars. But nor will we allow our interests to be rudely ignored and trampled onLavrov said.

According to the minister, the responses of the United States to the demands for security guarantees presented by Russia are “quite confused” but contain rational elements in “secondary matters”, such as that relating to the placement of short and medium-range missiles.

The security guarantees demanded by Russia include putting brake on further expansion of the Alliance, in particular Ukraine and Georgia, the cessation of all military cooperation with the former Soviet republics and withdrawal of NATO troops and weapons to the positions they held before 1997.

Regarding the threat of new US sanctions against Russia, which include its leaders and the disconnection of the country from the international financial systems, Lavrov has indicated that this “would be equivalent to breaking off relations.”