Biden agrees to meet Putin ‘in principle’ if no invasion

President Joe Biden has accepted “in precept” a gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin in what might symbolize a last-ditch effort at diplomacy over tensions surrounding Ukraine and a attainable avenue to avert a looming invasion directed by Moscow.

Jen Psaki, the White Home press secretary, stated Sunday night that the summit between the 2 world leaders would occur following a gathering between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart, International Minister Sergey Lavrov. That assembly is scheduled for later this week.

Psaki famous that the settlement is conditioned on Moscow holding off on an invasion.

“Because the President has repeatedly made clear, we’re dedicated to pursuing diplomacy till the second an invasion begins,” Psaki stated in a press release. “President Biden accepted in precept a gathering with President Putin following that engagement, once more, if an invasion hasn’t occurred. We’re at all times prepared for diplomacy.”

Information of a attainable one-on-one between Biden and Putin comes because the White Home warns {that a} Russian invasion of Ukraine might come at any time. Moscow has for weeks constructed up its army drive on its ex-Soviet neighbor’s northern and jap borders, with current totals placing Russia’s drive at about 190,000.

The specter of an assault by Russia has stored international markets on edge for a lot of the final a number of weeks, with oil costs climbing and equities unstable.

The broad S&P 500, which tracks the fairness efficiency of the biggest U.S. firms, is down 3.69% in February, whereas the Nasdaq Composite has shed 4.8%. West Texas crude oil futures have gained 4.2% over the previous month.

The potential for imminent battle compelled Biden earlier on Sunday to scrap plans to return to his dwelling in Delaware following a two-hour assembly together with his nationwide safety workforce.

The uncommon Sunday Nationwide Safety Council assembly started round midday and lasted slightly over two hours, in line with reporters who watched the attendees arrive after which depart the White Home compound. The abrupt cancellation to the president’s holiday-weekend plans carries heightened that means in current days given the administration’s perception in a looming Russian offensive.

Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, who’s emerged as a vital diplomat between the U.S. and Russia over the course of the frenzied weekend. Macron’s workplace stated that, this weekend alone, the French president spoke with Biden, Putin, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Moscow has to this point insisted it has no plans to invade Ukraine and stated its forces in Belarus are there to conduct army drills over the subsequent week.

Regardless of U.S. considerations that Russia might strike any day, the White Home has additionally confused that there is nonetheless room for diplomacy. NATO Secretary Basic Jens Stoltenberg appeared to depart room for a peaceable resolution when he spoke with CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on the Munich Safety Convention on Saturday.

“They’ve all of the capabilities in place, Russia, to launch an assault on Ukraine with none warning in any respect. Nobody is denying that Russia has all these forces in place,” Stoltenberg stated. “The query is, will they launch an assault?”

These feedback got here as Russia’s army launched ballistic and cruise missiles on Saturday, an train the Kremlin known as a “deliberate train of the strategic deterrence forces.”

— CNBC’s Christina Wilkie contributed reporting