WASHINGTON, January 20. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden, during a press conference, stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would "be a disaster" for Moscow.
"If they actually do what they are capable of doing with the force amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia," the US leader emphasized.
Biden also noted that the US partners and allies expressed their readiness to cause a serious damage to Russian economy.
Russian banks will not be able to carry out transactions with dollars if the country invades Ukraine, Joe Biden said.
According to the US leader, if Russia invades Ukraine, it will face serious economic consequences. "If they invade, they are going to pay. Their banks will not be able to deal with dollars," Biden noted.
Biden believes that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has not made his final decision on the situation around Ukraine yet.
The US president noted that the decision would "solely" be Putin’s. According to Biden, the Russian leader is currently weighing what consequences Russia likely to face in the short and long term. Also, the US president suggested that Putin did not make his final decision so far.
Furthermore, Biden stated that Russia would take action in terms of invading Ukraine. "[President Putin] is not certain about what he is going to do. My guess is he will move in, he has to do something," the US leader said.
The probability of Ukraine joining NATO in the near future remains low, since not all relevant requirements have been met by Kiev, US President stated.
"The likelihood that Ukraine is going to join NATO in the near term is not very likely, based on much more work they have to do in terms of democracy and a few other things going on. And whether or not the major allies in the West would vote to bring Ukraine in right now," the US leader noted.
"So, there is room to work if [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to do that," Biden stated.
No grounds that NATO members will not agree on the retaliatory actions against Moscow amid the developments on the Russian-Ukrainian border, US President stated.
The US leader said that he had a very frank discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The American president challenged the claims that NATO would not agree on the situation around Ukraine, recalling that he spoke with the NATO leadership and the NATO-Russia Council meeting was held. Biden also emphasized that Russia would bear responsibility, if it invaded Ukraine.
The US president also noted that Russia would pay serious consequences if it moved into Ukraine.
US President believes that three meetings between Russia and the US on security guarantees had no results.
"So far in the three meetings we have not produced anything," the US leader stated.
The Russian-US consultations on security guarantees in Geneva ended on January 10. On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released draft agreements on security guarantees on the part of the US and NATO. Russia-US consultations on this issue took place in Geneva on January 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12 and a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on January 13.