There are reports President Biden and President Putin will meet sometime this week amid heightened tensions between the two countries over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki issued a statement last night where she said Biden agreed to conditionally meet with Putin. The condition is that Russia doesn't proceed with its invasion of Ukraine.
“As the President has repeatedly made clear, we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins,” Psaki said in a statement. “President Biden accepted in principle a meeting with President Putin following that engagement, again, if an invasion hasn’t happened. We are always ready for diplomacy.” The Kremlin on Monday said that there were currently no concrete plans for an official meeting between Putin and Biden, according to Reuters. The public has been apprehensive since the announcement of Russian and Ukrainian tensions - the threat of an assault by Russia has kept global markets on edge for much of the last several weeks, with oil prices climbing and equities volatile.
Moscow continues to insist it has no plans to invade Ukraine at this time, and said its forces in Belarus are there for military drill purposes over the next week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia's Foreign Minister are set to meet this week in Europe, but only if Russia doesn't invade.