National security adviser Jake Sullivan again warned that Russian forces are mobilizing for an impending, bloody invasion of Ukraine less than a day after President Joe Biden agreed "In principle" to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin should Russia not invade.
"All signs look like President Putin and the Russians are proceeding with a plan to execute a major military invasion of Ukraine," Sullivan said Monday on ABC News.
Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces have been "Getting in a position to attack." Sullivan told NBC News' "Today" that the Biden administration is working on dual tracks, ready to "Respond decisively" in case of invasion yet ready "To settle this peacefully." On Sunday, Biden agreed "In principle" to hold a summit with Putin if the Kremlin doesn't invade.
His office said Putin and Biden "Accepted the principle of such a summit," to be followed by a broader summit meeting involving other "Relevant stakeholders to discuss security and strategic stability in Europe." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are set to lay the groundwork for the summit when they meet Thursday.
The summit announcement followed a flurry of calls by Macron to Putin, Biden and also British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Putin and Biden could meet if they consider it necessary, but emphasized that "It's premature to talk about specific plans for a summit." "When President Macron asked President Biden yesterday if he was prepared in principle to meet with President Putin if Russia did not invade of course President Biden said yes," Sullivan said.
At an orchestrated, pre-recorded meeting of the presidential Security Council, a stream of top Russian officials argued for recognizing the separatist regions' independence, though some suggested Putin didn't have to do it immediately.
