US Vice President Harris warns Russia of unprecedented sanctions if it invades
Munich, Feb 19: US Vice President Kamala Harris warned Russia on Saturday that it will face "unprecedented" financial costs if it invades Ukraine and predicted that such an attack would draw European allies closer to the United States. Harris spoke at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany the day after President Joe Biden said he's "convinced" that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade the neighbouring country.
"Let me be clear, can say with absolute certainty: If Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States, together with our allies and partners, will impose significant, and unprecedented economic costs," Harris said. The vice president aimed to make the case to a largely European audience that the West has "strength through unity" and that an invasion would likely lead to an even bigger NATO footprint on Russia's doorsteps.
Russia
annexed
Ukraine's
Crimea
Peninsula
in
2014,
and
pro-Russia
separatists
have
been
fighting
Ukrainian
forces
in
the
country's
east
for
almost
eight
years.
The
US
and
the
European
Union
previously
sanctioned
Russia
over
its
seizure
of
Crimea.
Western
fears
of
an
invasion
have
escalated
in
recent
months
as
Russia
amassed
more
than
150,000
troops
near
Ukraine's
borders.
Harris
said
the
Biden
administration,
along
with
its
allies,
had
sought
to
engage
with
Moscow
in
good
faith
to
find
a
diplomatic
resolution
but
was
not
met
the
Kremlin
in
good
faith.
"Russia
continues
to
say
it
is
ready
to
talk
while
at
the
same
time
it
narrows
the
avenues
for
diplomacy,"
Harris
said.
"Their
actions
simply
do
not
match
their
words."
Harris
credited
European
allies
for
speaking
with
a
largely
unified
voice
as
the
latest
Ukraine
crisis
has
unfolded.
The
vice
president
said
Republicans
and
Democrats
in
Washington
-
who
rarely
agree
on
many
major
issues
-
have
largely
reached
the
same
page
on
the
necessity
of
confronting
Putin.
"We
came
together
and
are
now
speaking
with
a
unified
voice,"
Harris
said.
Harris
on
Friday
declared
"our
greatest
strength
is
our
unity"
as
she
met
with
the
leaders
of
Estonia,
Latvia
and
Lithuania
on
the
sidelines
of
the
conference.
The Baltic countries have requested the US increase its troop presence on the eastern edge of NATO. The White House has not yet said whether it will fulfill those requests, but Harris suggested in her comments that an invasion would lead to a bolstered American presence. "We will further reinforce our NATO allies on the eastern flank," Harris said. As the brewing crisis gets more complicated by the day, Biden and other administration officials have offered increasingly dire warnings that the window for diplomacy is narrow. Biden told reporters Friday that he believes Putin has decided to invade in the coming days, taking military action that could go far beyond the disputed Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and include the capital of Kyiv.
As
Harris
makes
late-inning
push
to
Putin
to
pull
back,
she
aimed
to
hit
hard
on
the
argument
that
the
US
will
emerge
stronger
from
a
conflict
while
Russia
will
emerge
weaker,
the
Biden
administration
official
said.
The
vice
president
was
scheduled
to
meet
after
her
speech
on
Saturday
with
German
Chancellor
Olaf
Scholz
and
Ukrainian
President
Volodymyr
Zelenskyy.
Biden
demurred
when
asked
Friday
about
the
wisdom
of
Zelenskyy
leaving
Ukraine
to
attend
the
Munich
conference
at
a
moment
when
the
Biden
administration
warns
an
invasion
could
be
coming
any
day.
"That's
a
judgment
for
him
to
make,"
Biden
said
of
Zelenskyy.
The
Munich
gathering
has
been
used
in
recent
years
by
both
US
and
Russian
leaders
to
deliver
pivotal
messages
before
an
important
audience.
Then-Vice
President
Mike
Pence
in
2019
pitched
President
Donald
Trump's
"America
First"
worldview,
receiving
a
tepid
response
from
the
mostly
European
crowd.
Biden
has
addressed
the
conference
as
a
private
citizen,
senator,
vice
president,
and
president.
At
last
year's
conference,
held
virtually
due
to
the
coronavirus
pandemic,
a
then-new
President
Biden
declared
"America's
back"
in
an
address
that
touched
on
economic
and
security
concerns
driven
by
adversaries
Russia
and
China.
Fifteen years ago, Putin used his own Munich appearance to deliver a broadside against NATO, accusing the alliance of putting "its frontline forces on our borders." It's a message that Putin continues to press as he demands the US and other NATO nations guarantee that Ukraine - long aspiring to be included in the alliance - will never be given entry. Harris' opportunity to demonstrate her policy chops abroad hasn't been lost on GOP detractors. "Putin is a bully who responds to strength. Sending VP Harris to Europe for meetings and speeches will only amuse him," tweeted Nikki Haley, who served as Trump's U.N. ambassador and is a potential 2024 presidential contender. But Harris in her remarks was laser-focused on her assignment to rally allies. "Our strength must not be underestimated. It lies in our unity," she said. "And as we have always shown it takes a lot more strength to build something up, than it takes to tear something down." (AP) CPS