White House on US President Biden's Possible Visit to Ukraine: Nothing to Announce
Vladimir Zelensky and Joe Biden. Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
Washington responded to the proposal of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to his American counterpart Joe Biden to visit Kiev, writes TASS.
Thus, Deputy White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that she could not yet announce the visit of the US leader.
I do not currently have any travel plans that I can announce or pre-announce
Karine Jean-PierreDeputy White House Press Secretary
Earlier, Zelensky, during an hour-long telephone conversation with Biden, invited him to come to Ukraine. It was reported that the US president did not agree to visit Kiev, and an informant in the presidential office said that his visit to the country was extremely unlikely.
Telephone conversation
On February 13, telephone conversations between the Ukrainian and American leaders took place. On the agenda were “Russian aggression” and ways to contain it. The White House said that Biden, during an hour-long conversation, expressed Zelensky's commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and also promised the Ukrainian president a “quick and decisive” US response to any “further Russian aggression.” The heads of state agreed to continue diplomatic contacts to de-escalate the crisis in the country and agreed on the importance of a policy of containment in response to Russia's military buildup near Ukraine's borders. However, when Zelensky invited Biden to personally come to Kiev “as soon as possible,” the US president did not give a positive response.
Earlier, Biden said that Russia plans to invade Ukraine on February 16. He named this date during negotiations with the leaders of Western countries, the European Union and NATO. Washington confirmed the president's statement and stated that the direct offensive would allegedly be preceded by a “flurry of missile strikes and cyber attacks.”
unity day
Zelensky responded by declaring February 16, 2022, the Day of Unity. He signed a decree “On urgent measures to consolidate Ukrainian society” and instructed to raise the national flag on houses and buildings throughout the country that day, and to play the national anthem at 10:00.
We are told that February 16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it Unity Day. The corresponding decree has already been signed. On this day, we will hang our national flags, put on blue and yellow ribbons and show our unity to the whole world.
Volodymyr ZelenskyPresident of Ukraine
He said that although Ukraine is being threatened with war, it intends to resolve conflicts through diplomacy. In an address to the nation, Zelensky also praised the country's army, noting that it is no longer the same as before.
On February 11, the American agency Bloomberg named February 15 the date of Russia's “invasion” of Ukraine. According to anonymous sources, the Russian Federation may arrange a provocation in the Donbass or an attack on Kiev. “Any action can begin as early as next Tuesday,” the news agency reports the words of the interlocutors. However, they did not provide any evidence to support their claim.
Moscow's reaction
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia accused Western countries of a coordinated information attack against Moscow. The department called the goal of this campaign to discredit the fair demands of the Russian Federation on security guarantees. “In fact, the Western media served the political order of their governments, co-ordinated replicating false information, participating in a full-scale information war,” the press service wrote.
Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, also called the United States alarmists and suggested that they invade Ukraine themselves, because “someone must after such an alarmist campaign.” He stressed that Russian troops are still on their territory. “Some sane people hoped that the hysteria fanned by the United States had subsided. Maybe they jinxed it, because the alarmists clearly got a second wind, ”the diplomat assessed the situation.
