U.S. President Joe Biden covered a wide range of topics during his first official press conference of 2022, including Russia-Ukraine tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, voting rights legislation and the ongoing political and public divisions still present in the country.
Biden said Russia would be held accountable if it invades Ukraine, but that accountability will depend on “what it does.” He added if Russia does “what they are capable of doing” with the military lined on Ukraine’s border, it would be a “disaster” for Russia, and allies and partners are ready to impose “severe costs and significant harm” on the country and its economy.
The president also spoke about how Putin had made two requests in recent conversations: that Ukraine would never be part of NATO, and that there would not be strategic weapons stationed in Ukraine. He said on the first, it was “not very likely” Ukraine would be a part of NATO in the near future, but did not rule it out later. As for strategic weapons, he said they would increase troop presence in Poland or Romania if Putin “moves” in the area.
Asked about if Biden would do anything differently in his second year, Biden said there were three things he’d do differently. He said he would hold a public forum and get out and speak with the public more often, and getting more advice from experts and officials out in the public from academia to think tanks. He said the third thing he would do is being “deeply involved” in off-year elections such as the upcoming 2022 election.
The president’s press conference comes as he is set to mark the first year in office and tries to rebound from an approval rating of 42 per cent.
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