Biden maintains that Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, stated this Friday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine and has accused him of releasing false information to have a pretext to launch a military attack, which could take place in the next few days. “At the moment I am convinced that you have made the decision“, the North American president has indicated to questions from the press in Washington. “We have reason to believe it”he added, citing US intelligence reports.

Biden has made these statements after speaking with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO, according to the White House. A telephone meeting in which the leaders have advocated continuing the diplomatic track while also preparing swift economic sanctions against Moscow if it chooses to escalate the conflict, according to indicates the White House in a notewhich details that they have also addressed the efforts to guarantee the defense of the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance.

The Biden Administration defends that a diplomatic solution is still possible if the Kremlin decides so, but he has warned that Washington and its European allies are prepared to crack down if Russia finally invades.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plan to meet on February 24 in Europe, according to Biden, who has nevertheless warned that any military action before then by Russia would mean “slam the door on diplomacy”.

These statements by Biden come as EU concern grows about the border bombing between Ukraine and Russia and after the explosion this Friday of a car bomb outside a pro-Russian government building in the city of Donetsk.