US President Joe Biden on Friday said that he has deployed 12,000 American troops along the Russian borders in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania owing to America’s obligation to NATO and ensuring the security of its allies in Europe.
However, he said that the US will not fight Russian forces in Ukraine as it will lead to World War three.
“…I have moved 12,000 American forces along the borders with Russia- Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania… Granted, if we respond, it is World War three. But we have a sacred obligation on NATO territory… although we will not fight world war in Ukraine,” Joe Biden said to the members of the House Democratic Caucus.
President Biden asserted that the US is fully committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its NATO allies in Europe.
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“We are going to stand together with our allies in Europe and send an unmistakable message that we will defend every inch of NATO territory with a galvanized NATO,” he further said.
The G7 countries (a political alliance consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on Friday announced a new set of economic sanctions on Russia as Moscow was stripped of the “most-favoured nation” trade status.
This will result in ban or high tariffs on Russian goods, putting it at par with Iran and North Korea.
This ban on goods includes the iron and steel sector as well as high-end luxury goods such as watches, vehicles, clothes, alcohol and jewelry with immediate effect.
The UK imposed strict sanctions on 386 members of Duma, the Russian Parliament. These members were those who had voted to recognise the independence of two breakaway “Independent People’s Republic” of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region.
The US on Tuesday had banned the import of Russian energy imports, i.e., oil and gas. Russia, in retaliation, hit back by imposing an export ban on various products.
This includes telecom equipment, medical instruments, agricultural equipment and forestry products such as timber. Also in the export ban list are cars, railway carriages and containers.
On Wednesday, Russia passed a legislation which nationalized assets of foreign firms which were leaving the country. These include mining firms Rio Tinto, Sony, Goldman Sachs and Unilever.
