President Joe Biden laid out his clearest terms yet for sitting down with Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose nine-month old invasion of Ukraine has cost more than 6,600 civilian lives and devastated swaths of the country.
At a press conference alongside France’s Emannuel Macron on Thursday, Biden affirmed he had “no immediate plans” to contact or speak with Putin.
Yet he said he would consider it if the Russian leader seemed interested in discussing terms to end the war in Ukraine.
“I’m prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if, in fact, there is an interest in him deciding he’s looking for a way to end the war. He hasn’t done that yet,” Biden said.
“If that’s the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I’ll be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind. He hasn’t done that.”
Biden added: “In the meantime, I think it’s absolutely critical, as Emmanuel said, we must support Ukrainian people.”
The president had previously said he would potentially speak with Putin at this month’s G20 summit if he would discuss the detention of American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was recently sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. Putin did not ultimately attend the G20 conference.
Both Biden and Macron on Thursday reaffirmed support for Ukraine as their primary issue of discussion, as the two met in the Oval Office during the first state visit at the White House under Biden.
Macron said the implications of the war in Ukraine were indeed worldwide – a threat to democratic values.
“What is at stake in Ukraine is not just very far from here, in a small country, somewhere in Europe, but it’s about our values. And it’s about our principles,” he said. “And it’s about what we agreed together in the U.N. Charter, protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Biden has asked Congress for more than $37 billion in additional aid for Ukraine before the year and Democrat-led Congress both come to an end. Lawmakers are in the middle of negotiating a larger government spending bill for the rest of fiscal year 2023 that could include the money for Ukraine.
GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy has warned that Republicans won’t support a “blank check” in funding Ukraine in the new Congress under their majority, meaning the same substantial American support for the country is at risk.
