President Joe Biden is withholding judgment amid Russia’s claims that it is scaling back its military operation outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as peace talks between the two countries begin in Turkey.
“We’ll see,” Biden told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.”
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Biden provided his assessment after speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tuesday morning.
“There seems to be a consensus to see what they have to offer,” Biden added.
Russian officials pledged to “reduce military activity” significantly near Kyiv, as well as in Chernihiv to the north. Ukrainian negotiators have also signaled a willingness to make concessions over Russian-occupied territory, including Crimea, over a 15-year period.
Biden made the comments Monday alongside visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
During his remarks, Biden applauded the prime minister and Singapore for punching “way above your weight.” Lee, in turn, was pressed to evaluate Biden’s Asia policy, saying that “each administration launches new initiatives” but the president seems “completely focused on achieving something lasting” in Asia.
Biden told reporters in the Oval Office earlier that he and Lee were meeting during “a critical moment for both our countries.”
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“Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war against Ukraine is an urgent threat to both Europe and, I believe, the Indo-Pacific as well, and it’s attacking the core tenets of a rule-based international order,” he said.
