US President Joe BidenMOSCOW, Feb 11US President Joe Biden's call for Americans to leave Ukraine immediately is counterproductive and contributes to escalating the situation, Ivan Timofeev, program director at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), told RIA Novosti. US President Joe Biden had earlier called on Americans to leave Ukraine, warning that the situation there could quickly take «crazy turn.» «I believe that this statement was really picked up by the media and contributes to escalating the situation, because scaring people with the inevitability of war is for a person of the level of the president of the country, given that there are no signs that this is an inevitable scenario, this is an excessive step,» the expert said in an interview with the agency. On the other hand, Biden can be understood: if this unlikely scenario suddenly materializes, and he did not take any preventive actions to protect American citizens, then he will have to answer for it, argues Timofeev. Thus, he insures himself, he explains. “This is a way to play it safe. But in general, I think this is a counterproductive statement, because Biden is an informed person. I am sure that he understands that the military scenario is not basic, but at the same time he makes statements which aggravate the situation, contribute to panic, which is not necessary here,» he stressed. Kiev and Western states have recently expressed concern about the alleged increase in «aggressive actions» by Russia near the borders of Ukraine and threaten with new sensitive sanctions. The administration of US President Joe Biden, amid rhetoric about plans attributed to the Russian Federation for a possible invasion of Ukraine, began sending additional troops to Europe. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and does not intend to attack anyone, and claims of «Russian aggression» are used as an excuse to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders.
January 26, 16:39 InfographicHow much the US spends on containing RussiaInfographicView
