(FreedomBeacon.com)- The Biden administration said on Wednesday it had set a diplomatic path to address Russia’s demands in Eastern Europe.
In the written response requested by the Kremlin, the US repeated its commitment to NATO’s “open door” policy and offered a “principled and pragmatic evaluation” of the Kremlin’s concerns.
In speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said putting the US response in writing allowed the US to be as “precise as possible” with Russia.
Of course, Moscow demanded the response be in writing, so it wasn’t Blinken’s idea.
Blinken added that now, the ball is in Russia’s court.
Also on Wednesday, diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany met in Paris where they held over eight hours of talks on ending the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
According to one French official, the Paris talks were a good signal from Russia and a step toward de-escalating the broader tensions in Ukraine. However, major differences remained with further talks planned for two weeks from now in Berlin.
Meanwhile, the White House has been trying to convince Moscow that any action against Ukraine would result in massive costs. On Tuesday, President Biden whose diplomats weren’t invited to Paris suggested that he may consider imposing sanctions on Vladimir Putin personally if Russia invades Ukraine.
But according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, personal sanctions on President Putin, while they wouldn’t be “painful,” would be politically destructive.
Two weeks ago when the US made the same threat, the Kremlin warned that placing sanctions on Putin would lead to a complete rupture in US/Russian relations.
Peskov added that Russia’s leaders are legally prevented from holding assets, property, and bank accounts abroad. So what personal sanctions President Biden is proposing is anybody’s guess.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday if Russia invades Ukraine, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany would not move forward. However, Price did not say whether Germany is on board with this threat.
In the meantime, the Biden administration is in talks with energy-producing nations worldwide over a possible diversion of supplies to Western Europe should Russia invade Ukraine.
Funny, when Donald Trump was president, the US was exporting oil and natural gas to Europe. If only Biden hadn’t shut down US energy production, we could be Europe’s alternative energy supplier.
