US national security advisor Jake Sullivan speaking on the Biden/Putin virtual meeting
- main topic of meeting was Ukraine
- if Russia invades Ukraine, US allies will respond with economic measures
- Biden made it clear to Putin on where US stands on issues
- Biden spoke with leaders of France, Germany, Italy, UK after meeting with Putin
- Biden will speak with Ukraine Pres. on Thursday
- says that Putin agreed that teams will follow up
- US will prepare for all contingencies
- there will be specific robust responses if they are required
- US doesn't believe Putin has made a decision regarding whether to invade Ukraine
- Biden made no concessions regarding how NATO decides membership
- fundamental objective with European allies is to deter invasion of Ukraine
- Nord Stream 2 pipeline is not leverage for Putin because it's not operating
- If Putin wants to see gas flow through Nord Stream 2, he should not invade Ukraine
- US continues to deliver defensive material to Ukraine
- US the stock with Germany about Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine
- US will take all action it can take to make sure that when situation never happens and to deter invasion of Ukraine
- On Iran Sullivan says Biden/Putin had good discussions on Iran
- nothing about nuclear deal constraints US from dealing with Iran proxies
- Biden/Ukraine Pres. will discuss diplomatic pathway
- Biden made clear that diplomacy has to come in the contact of de-escalation
Both sides are telling their respective stories. Time will tell if the talks lead to de-escalation and the diplomatic pathway instead.
