President of the United States Joe Biden said that he is convinced of Russia’s invasion plans for Ukraine.
According to The New York Times, Biden said: “We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week – in the coming days.”
He added that should the invasion ultimately happen, it would be a “catastrophic and needless war of choice”, and that the US and their allies are “prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory from any threat to our collective security.”
Biden was then asked for details as to how he was sure about Russia’s intention to invade Ukraine, he said that his administration has “significant intelligence capability”.
However, he said that diplomacy is always a possibility as long as the attack hasn’t begun: “I say it again, Russia can still choose diplomacy. It is not too late to deescalate and return to the negotiating table.”
Talks between the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, are scheduled for 24 February.
Biden added that any form of military action by Russia before the scheduled talks would indicate that they have “slammed the door shut on diplomacy”.