US: Biden agrees to meet Putin if he halts Ukraine attack

In what appeared to be a lastditch diplomatic gambit brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron the White House said US President Joe Biden has agreed in principle to a meeting with Russias President Vladimir Putin as long as he holds off on launching an assault that US officials warn appears increasingly more likelyWhite House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration has been clear that we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion beginsUS Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are set to meet on Thursday in Europe as long as a further invasion doesnt occur We are always ready for diplomacy We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war Psaki said in statement And currently Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a fullscale assault on Ukraine very soonIn Kyiv life outwardly continued as usual for many on a mild winter Sunday with brunches and church services ahead of what Biden said late last week was an already decidedupon Russian attack Russia on Sunday rescinded earlier pledges to pull tens of thousands of its troops back from Ukraines northern border a move that US leaders said put Russia another step closer to what they said was the planned invasion of Ukraine Residents of Ukraines capital filled a golddomed cathedral to pray for peaceRussias action extends what it said were military exercises originally set to end Sunday that brought an estimated 30000 Russian forces to Belarus Ukraines neighbor to the north They are among at least 150000 Russian troops now deployed outside Ukraines borders along with tanks warplanes artillery and other war materiel The continued deployment of the Russian forces in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv a city of about 3 million people less than a threehour drive awayKaterina Spanchak who fled a region of eastern Ukraine when it was taken over by Russianallied separatists was among worshippers crowded into the capitals St Michaels monastery smoky with the candles burned by the faithful to pray that Ukraine be spared We all love life and we are all united by our love of life Spanchak said pausing to compose herself We should appreciate it every day Thats why I think everything will be fineOur joint prayers will help to elude this tragedy which is advancing said another worshipper who identified himself only by his first name Oleh A US official said Sunday that Bidens assertion that Putin has made the decision to roll Russian forces into Ukraine was based on intelligence that Russian frontline commanders have been given orders to begin final preparations for an attack The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive intelligenceThe United States and many European countries have charged for weeks that Putin has built up the forces he needs to invade Ukraine a westwardlooking democracy that has sought to move out of Russias orbit and is now trying to create pretexts to invade Western nations have threatened massive sanctions if Putin does US officials on Sunday defended their decision to hold off on their planned financial punishments of Russia ahead of any invasion after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called passionately Saturday for the West to do moreIf you pull the trigger on that deterrent well then it doesnt exist anymore as a deterrent Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Fox on Washingtons sanctions threat Russia held nuclear drills Saturday as well as the conventional exercises in Belarus and has ongoing naval drills off the coast in the Black SeaThe announcement that Russia was reversing its pledge to withdraw its forces from Belarus came after two days of sustained shelling along a contact line between Ukraines soldiers and Russianallied separatists in eastern Ukraine an area that Ukraine and the West worry could be the flashpoint in igniting conflict Biden convened the National Security Council at the White House on Russias military buildup around Ukraine White House officials released no immediate details of their roughly two hours of discussionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever