Biden agrees on the principle of the Ukraine Summit with Putin

Biden agrees on the principle of the Ukraine Summit with Putin. 

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to hold a summit in Ukraine, The French leader announced on Monday, presenting an option to get out of one of the more deadly European crises of the last few decades.

Macron’s office French Macron, the president of France Emmanuel Macron, said in a statement that he had proposed to both leaders a summit about “security and stability of the strategic environment within Europe.” 

The White House said in a statement that Biden has accepted the meeting “in the spirit of” but “if there isn’t any invasion.”

“We are always prepared to engage in diplomacy,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. “We are also prepared to take immediate and severe penalties should Russia decide to go to war instead.”

The messages seeking comments from the Kremlin and the Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy weren’t immediately received until early Monday morning.

Many details regarding the proposed summit, which was revealed following a torrent of conversations among Macron, Biden, Putin, Zelenskiy, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – are not completely clear.

Macron’s office and Macron’s office, and the White House, said the substance of the summit would be negotiated through U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting scheduled for February 24. 

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What role will Ukraine take part at the meeting? If there was one, it was not clear.

A Biden administration official stated via email the event was “completely not a formality” because the date and format were awaiting confirmation.

Oil prices dropped, Asian share markets pared losses, and Wall Street futures rallied as the first glimpse of hope for an agreement with the diplomatic community emerged.

However, Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said he was skeptical that the summit would take place.

“But should Biden and Putin were to meet, the two must solicit (Zelenskiy) Zelenskiy them,” Zelenskiy said in a tweet posted to Twitter.

The announcement of Macron’s plan is coming after the last week of increased tensions caused by Russia’s aggressive presence on the borders of Ukraine. 

Russian troops have been building in the vicinity of its neighbor since late the year, which Western countries believe could be a sign of an attack that could happen anytime.

Russia has denied any plans to invade. However, tensions grew even more strained as the Belarusian defense ministry announced that Russia would prolong military drills in Belarus, scheduled to close on Sunday.

U.S.-based satellite imagery firm Maxar announced several new deployments by Russian militarized units to farms, forests, and industrial areas up to 15 km (9 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

Blinken declared in a statement on Sunday that expansion of the exercise in Belarus. It borders Ukraine towards the North and has made him more concerned about Russia’s possibility of launching an attack.

“Until the tanks are moving while planes and tanks are in flight, We will make use of every chance and minute we will see whether diplomacy can stop the president Putin from advancing this agenda,” he told CNN. 

In a letter addressed to U.N. Human Rights head Michelle Bachelet, seen by Reuters on Sunday, the United States raised concern that “further Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to the possibility of a human rights disaster.”

“Specifically, We have reliable evidence that suggests Russian forces are making lists of Ukrainians who are to be killed or transferred to camps in the aftermath of an invasion by military forces,” wrote U.S. ambassador to U.N. on Geneva Bathsheba Nelli Crocker.

She also stated that Washington has reliable information suggesting that Russian forces could utilize lethal means to disperse protests or stop “peaceful actions of apparent resistance by civilian populations.”