East Room 2:22 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Trying to make up your mind, huh? (Laughter.) Well, good afternoon. Yesterday, Vladimir Putin recognized two regions of Ukraine as independent states and he bizarrely asserted that these regions are no longer part of Ukraine and their sovereign territory. To put it simply, Russia just announced that it...
Q: Do you have any information to provide about the telephone conversation between Jean-Yves Le Drian and Sergei Lavrov? A: As Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced this morning, he will speak on the telephone to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, early this afternoon. The call is part of the efforts being made by the French President and the Minister, in close coordination with our European partners and allies, to keep paths open to overcome the crisis through dialogue and (...)
Press conference with Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy following the special informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on the situation in Ukraine. LIVE | #EU2022FR | Press conference with @JY_LeDrian and @JosepBorrellF following the special informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on the situation in Ukraine. @francediplo @EUCouncil https://t.co/ErWX8sR4mD- Présidence française (...)
The President of the French Republic condemns the decision by the President of the Russian Federation to recognize the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.
Q: Is France conducting military and above all naval exercises in the Black Sea, and even in the Sea of Azov? And the Baltic Sea? Has there been any official Russian reaction? And finally, what's the situation with the diplomatic and consular posts in Ukraine? Will the embassy in Ukraine go to Lviv? A: Our embassy is at work in Kyiv and is constantly in touch with our compatriots and the Ukrainian authorities. It's ready to face any eventuality. On the security situation for French people, (...)
Q: Following yesterday's broadcast of the France 5 documentary on Wagner, and according to what we've revealed in investigation after investigation on Mali and the Central African Republic, the next identified "targets", in addition to destabilization operations in internal affairs... does France recognize a war of influence specifically being directed against it by Russia? A: The model of the Russian private military company Wagner - which thrives on political turmoil and carries out (...)
M. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, had a conversation early this afternoon with his Russian counterpart, Mr Sergei Lavrov. The meeting follows on from yesterday's discussions between the French and Russian Presidents and the previous telephone discussion between the two ministers on Saturday. The Minister recalled the seriousness of the current tensions and our deep concern in this respect. He reiterated the importance of a Trilateral Contact Group meeting, (...)
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, M. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, spoke on the telephone today, Saturday 19 February, to his Russian counterpart Mr Sergei Lavrov. The Minister expressed his deep concern about the escalation under way in eastern Ukraine over the past few days. The exceptional number of ceasefire violations noted by the OSCE mission contravene the commitments made in recent discussions in the Normandy format. The Minister (...)
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section...
Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order (E.O.) to respond to President Putin's action to purportedly recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DNR and LNR) as "independent" states. President Putin's action contradicts Russia's commitments under the Minsk agreements, refutes Russia's claimed commitment to diplomacy, and undermines Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This E.O....
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Germany and Jordan met in Munich today (19 February) to continue their coordination and consultation with a view to advancing the Middle East Peace Process towards a just, comprehensive and lasting peace on the basis of the Two-State Solution. Following our meetings in Munich on February 15, 2020, in Amman on September 24, 2020 and in Cairo on January 11, 2021, and in Paris March 11, 2021, the Ministers (...)
Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Madam President:) Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the "order") that expands the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13660 of March 6, 2014, and expanded by Executive Order 13661 of March 16, 2014, and...
The Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific (Paris, 22 February 2022) will be an opportunity to showcase the European Union strategy for the region and develop tangible projects in this regard. It will bring together Foreign Ministers of EU Member States and some 30 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, representatives of European institutions and representatives of the main regional organizations. What is the objective of the Ministerial Forum? The Indo-Pacific region is of (...)
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany today about Russia's ongoing escalation along the borders of Ukraine. The leaders strongly condemned President Putin's decision to recognize the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine as "independent." They discussed how they will continue to coordinate their response...
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. President Biden strongly condemned Russian President Putin's decision to purportedly recognize the "independence" of the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine. He updated President Zelenskyy on the United...
We have anticipated a move like this from Russia and are ready to respond immediately. President Biden will soon issue an Executive Order that will prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by U.S. persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine. This E.O. will also provide authority to impose sanctions...
As the President has repeatedly made clear, we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov are scheduled to meet later this week in Europe, provided Russia does not proceed with military action. President Biden accepted in principle a meeting with President Putin following that engagement,...
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France today. They discussed ongoing diplomacy and deterrence efforts in response to Russia's military buildup on the borders of Ukraine. ###
Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. convened a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia's military buildup on the borders of Ukraine. ###
The Westin Grand MunichMunich, Germany 11:18 A.M. CEST THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, this was an important trip to be here at the Munich Security Conference - in particular this year, as I said yesterday. We are looking at a moment that is a very decisive moment on one of the bases for the Munich Security...
Munich, Germany AIDE: (Inaudible) on background with a senior administration official, and embargoed until the end of the conversation. And it's just going to be [senior administration official]. Q This conversation. AIDE: Embargoed until the end of this conversation, on background with a senior administration official. So, [senior administration official] will give some opening thoughts...
1. We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, remain gravely concerned about Russia's threatening military build-up around Ukraine, in illegally annexed Crimea and in Belarus. Russia's unprovoked and unjustified massing of military forces, the largest deployment on the European continent since the end of the Cold War is a challenge to global security and the (...)
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 2:43 P.M. EST MS. PSAKI: Hi, everyone. Happy Friday. Okay, so we have two special guests with us today. Joining us are Deputy National Security Advisors Anne Neuberger and Daleep Singh. By way of a quick introduction, Anne is Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology. Previously,...
Roosevelt Room 4:54 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Today, I made two vital calls, as I've been making for some months now - two vital calls that - on the situation in Russia and Ukraine. The first was to a bipartisan group of members of Congress who are currently representing the United States, along...
Commerzbank Filiale MünchenMunich, Germany 2:12 P.M. CEST VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: I'm looking forward to our conversation. As you know, this is a decisive moment in our world's history. And this is an important meeting for that and many other reasons. I look forward, in this discussion, to hearing directly from you about the situation on the ground...
