{"id":36956,"date":"2022-02-07T22:27:31","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T22:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/02\/07\/biden-it-would-be-wise-for-americans-to-leave-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:05:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:05:04","slug":"biden-it-would-be-wise-for-americans-to-leave-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/02\/07\/biden-it-would-be-wise-for-americans-to-leave-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden: It \u2018would be wise\u2019 for Americans to leave Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Joe Biden said Monday \u201cit would be wise\u201d for Americans other than essential diplomats to leave Ukraine <\/a>amid the Russian military threat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden made his comments during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House, shortly after the two leaders met for talks about the simmering crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State Department has already authorized nonessential employees to leave and has called on all family members of diplomats in Ukraine to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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President Joe Biden speaks during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Washington. (Alex Brandon\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Biden also vowed Monday the crucial Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline would be blocked if Russia invades Ukraine. Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin said the U.S. and its allies were the only ones talking about invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron met for hours in Moscow at the same time Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke at the White House in efforts to defuse the crisis before armed conflict breaks out. Russia has massed thousands of troops at the Ukraine border<\/a>, adding military might almost daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House has expressed increasing alarm about the prospects of a war, and Biden has been looking to solidify support among European allies for economy-jarring sanctions against Russia if it moves further with an invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are jointly ready, and all of NATO is ready,\u201d Biden said, referring to the powerful Western alliance, though Ukraine is not a member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Biden reiterated with certitude that the pipeline would not move forward, Scholz stressed the need to keep some ambiguity about sanctions in order to press Russia to de-escalate the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s necessary for Russia to understand that a lot more could happen than they\u2019ve perhaps calculated with themselves,.\u201d Scholz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The buildup of over 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine has fueled Western worries of a possible offensive. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned Sunday<\/a> that Russia could invade Ukraine \u201cany day,\u201d triggering a conflict that would come at an \u201cenormous human cost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin described his lengthy talks with Macron at the Kremlin as businesslike. He noted that the U.S. and its NATO allies have ignored Moscow\u2019s demands for security guarantees<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that NATO\u2019s expansion eastward to Russia\u2019s border has violated the security principles of international agreements and scoffed at Western assurances that it is a defensive alliance that doesn\u2019t threaten Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople of Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan have had learned it from their own experience,\u201d the Russian leader said in a sarcastic reference to the U.S. allies\u2019 involvement in military campaigns in those countries. He also referenced NATO\u2019s 1999 bombing campaign in the former Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He derided the Western criticism of the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, saying that \u201cNATO members consider it possible to lecture us about our troops movements on our own territory and cast them as a threat of Russian invasion in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has denied any plans to attack its neighbor but demands that the U.S. and its allies bar Ukraine and other former Soviet nations from joining NATO, halt weapons deployments there and roll back NATO forces from Eastern Europe. Washington and NATO reject those demands<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a positive note, Putin said without elaboration that some of Macron\u2019s proposals could serve as a basis for a settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, adding that they agreed to have a call after Macron\u2019s visit to Kyiv Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Biden said when asked if there remained an \u201cofframp\u201d for Russia in the standoff: \u201cThe answer is yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron said after his \u201csubstantial, deep\u201d meeting with Putin: \u201cThe upcoming days will be crucial and deep discussions together will be needed … to build new guarantees for peace and security\u201d for the European continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\t