Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2022

January 25, 2022

The President. Do you guys have any questions? I know you never have questions.

Russia/Ukraine/President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia/North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Q. I know. Do you mindâthis morning you hadâit seems like you spent a lot of time with your national security team at the White House. Are there any updates on Ukraine, Mr. President?

The President. No, no updates, except that there has been no change in the posture of the Russian forces. There haveâand now they areâas you know, they're along the entire Belarus border.

And I've made it clear toâearly on to President Putin that if he were to move into Ukraine, that there'd be severe consequences, including significant economic sanctions, as well as, I'd feel obliged to beef up our presenceâNATO's presence inâon the eastern front: Poland, Romania, et cetera.

And soâbut I seeâI was watching one of you on television pointing out the fact thatâand I think you got it right, whoever it wasâI'm embarrassed I don't remember whoâsaying that this is all Putin. I don't think even his people know for certain what he's going to do.

Q. Would you ever see yourself personally sanctioning him if he did invade Ukraine?

The President. Yes.

Q. You would?

The President. I would see that. [Inaudible]ââ

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Q. What would it take to trigger the deployment of the 8,500 troops that you've put on high alert? And what's your message to those forces that are on high alert?

The President. Those forces on high alert areâthey're part of a NATO operation, not a sole

U.S. operation.

And I've made it clear to President Putin that we would beâwe have a sacred obligationâ article 5 obligation to our NATO allies, and that if, in fact, he continued the buildup and/or was to move, we would be reinforcing those troops.

And I've spoken with every one of our NATO allies in personânot "in person," virtuallyâ and we're all on the same page. We've got to make it clear that there's no reason for anyoneâany member of NATOâto worry whether or not we wouldâwe, NATOâwould come to their defense.

President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia/Ukraine/U.S. Troop Deployments To Support North Atlantic Treaty Organization Operations

Q. And, Mr. President, what aboutâwhatâjust what'sâjust one more. Just one more question. Can youââ

The President. I'll take it. I'll take it.

Q. Can weâmay I ask you about whatâwhen you'll make a decision about deploying those troops? What willââ

The President. Well, it depends.

Q. ââlead to that?

The President. What would lead to that is what's going to happenâwhat Putin does or doesn't do. And I may be moving some of those troops in the nearer term, just because it takes time.

And, again, it's not provocative. It's just exactly what I said: is that as long as we have to reassureâif you notice, you don't see a lot of concern in terms of their security of ourâand of our NATO allies in Western Europe. But in Eastern Europe, there's reason for concern. They're along the Russian border. They're on the Belarus border. So everyone from Poland on has reason to be concerned about what would happen and what spillover effects could occur.

We have no intention of putting American forces or NATO forces in Ukraine. But weâas I said, there are going to be serious economic consequences if he moves.

Russia/Ukraine/President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia

Q. Can you tell me whether you think, sir, that the risk of an invasion is increasing or decreasing or steady just as it has been in these recent days?

The President. You know, I'll be completely honest with you: It's a little bit like reading tea leaves. Ordinarily, if it were a different leaderâthe fact that he continues to build forces along Ukraine's border from Belarus all the way aroundâwell, you'd say, "Well, that means that he is looking like he's going to do something."

But then you look at what his past behavior is and what everyone is saying in his team, as well as everyone else, as to what is likely to happen: It all comes down to his decision.

Look, let me conclude by saying: There will be enormous consequences if he were to go in and invade, as he could, the entire countryâor a lot less than that, as wellâfor Russia, not only in terms of economic consequences and political consequences, but there'll be enormous consequences worldwide.

This would be the largestâif he were to move in with all those forces, it'd be the largest invasion since World War II.

Q. So justââ

The President. It would change the world.

Ukraine

Q. Just to be clear, you sayâMr. President, more than economic consequences or geopolitical consequences, could there be military consequences?

The President. There is not going to be any American forces moving into Ukraine.

Russia-U.S. Relations

Q. When we were in Geneva, you talked about this ideaâyou talked about this idea, in Geneva, of a "stable, predictable relationship" with Russia. Is that something that's still possible given how aggressive he's been and what his actions have been lately?

The President. We'll see. "Stay tuned," as they say.

NOTE: The President spoke at 2:02 p.m. at the HoneyMade boutique. A portion of these remarks could not be verified because the audio was incomplete.

Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters :: Washington, DC. Locations: Washington, DC.

Names: Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Subjects: Communications : News media :: Presidential interviews; North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Russia : International diplomatic efforts; Russia : President; Russia : Relations with Ukraine; Ukraine : Russia, role; Ukraine : U.S. assistance.

DCPD Number: DCPD202200034.