Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky recently told reporters that President Joe Biden’s threats to Russia with sanctions in case of invasion won’t matter to him and the European Union.
Zelensky supports Kyiv amid a growing Russian military presence at Ukraine’s eastern borders and has expressed dismay over the European Union and President Joe Biden’s supportive policies toward the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This project would essentially allow Russia unimpeded access to the central European market. Russia, a weak economic power, uses its large energy market to influence Europe.
According to the official Nord Stream 2 website, the EU requires reliable, affordable, and sustainable new gas supplies in order to meet its demand. The Nord Stream 2 Pipeline will transport gas from Russia’s largest reserve to the EU internal markets.
Zelensky stated that Nord Stream 2 has “dangerous geopolitical weapons” and is “a matter for war” in addition to locking Ukraine out of the European Energy Market. Russia views the conflict as a civil battle between Kyiv, ethnic Russians, and Kyiv. Kyiv has provided significant evidence that Russia supports these “separatists”. The war is between Russia and Ukraine and not Ukraine and not a domestic secessionist movement.
The Ukrainian president stressed that the United States and European Union’s current policies towards Nord Stream 2 would not help to keep the peace. Zelensky also suggested that he was open to meeting Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, during the same press conference.
He said that Ukraine is open to any format of negotiation with the Russian Federation in order to resolve this matter. He adds that they are discussing this openly and not for the second time. Zelensky, however, rejected the notion of “a summit just for the sake”
Zelensky did not prioritize American politics over NATO and NATO. However, he did say that he was hopeful Washington would play some role in bringing about peace in eastern Ukraine. This may be an extension of his frustrations with the E.U. – But he criticized the Biden administration for failing to take the threat of a Russian invasion seriously.
Biden has not given Zelensky any reason to believe that the United States will provide full-throated support in the face of a Russian invasion. Russia is now planning a decade of occupation. As president, Biden actively opposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser, stated that the Biden administration would only sanction Russia if it invades Eastern Ukraine. This is because Russia needs the pipeline sanctions to continue its “leverage”.
Biden’s administration actively opposed Congress’ attempts to sanction the pipeline. It also repealed President Donald Trump’s sanctions. Zelensky claims that Biden didn’t alert Ukraine to this change in policy.
Zelensky said that Biden understands Ukraine better than any previous, ex-President, so he understands all issues and, most importantly, all security risks. This apparent dig at Biden was made in response to longstanding concerns about Biden’s business dealings with Ukrainian oligarchs. Zelensky is a former TV comedian.
Biden refused to meet Zelensky before meeting with Putin, and he did not fulfill his promise to meet the Ukrainian president in the spring. Biden finally allowed Zelensky to visit the White House in September.
Zelensky spoke with Biden once again last week after Biden held a virtual meeting.
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