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| Taking questions from reporters on Tuesday, Mr Biden replied "yes" when asked whether he could see himself imposing sanctions on the Russian president personally in the event of an invasion. (Photo by= BBC) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] US President Joe Biden says he would consider personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine. BBC said that Mr. Biden said there would be "enormous consequences" for the world if Russia made a move on the nation, which sits on its southwestern border.
His comments came as other Western leaders repeated warnings that Russia would pay a heavy price for invasion. Russia has accused the US and others of "escalating tensions" over the issue and denies planning to enter Ukraine. Diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France will gather in Paris on Wednesday for talks about the ongoing tensions. Taking questions from reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Biden replied "yes" when asked whether he could see himself imposing sanctions on the Russian president personally in the event of an invasion. Such a move across Ukraine's border would mean "enormous consequences worldwide" and could amount to "the largest invasion since World War Two", he said.
Western powers agreed to "unprecedented" sanctions against Russia if it were to invade during crisis talks earlier this week. Russia responded angrily to Mr. Biden's remarks. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Mr. Putin said such sanctions would not be "painful" for the president but would be "politically destructive". He added that Russia's top government officials were banned from having any assets or accounts abroad and that Mr. Putin's salary went to the Rossiya bank.
