Biden: NATO-Russia clash would risk World War III

US President Joe Biden has reiterated that the United States and its NATO allies would not fight Russia in Ukraine, saying such a scenario will kick start "World War III."

"We’re going to continue to stand together with our allies in Europe and send an unmistakable message. We will defend every single inch of NATO territory with the full might of the united and galvanized NATO," Biden said on Friday after announcing additional sanctions on Russia.

"We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine. Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, something we must strive to prevent,” he added.

'NATO Frankenstein is everywhere'

“Wait a minute--did he say ‘NATO territory?’” said American writer and political commentator Daniel Patrick Welch. He added that NATO is “a Frankenstein waging war after war.”

“So NATO has territory now? That is an amazing statement all in itself. Not only is it some sort of country now--should we call it ‘Westeros?’ ‘United Rules-Based International States of Order?’" Welch added.

“But it also appears to have magical powers: it floats blissfully above the world map, managing to be contiguous to every potential war zone and threat to its ‘security.’ Libya, Syria, Yugoslavia, Ukraine--it borders them all!” he noted.

“The other magic trick is how it appears to be fighting and not fighting at exactly the same time. The decades and billions spent to destabilize Ukraine and 'bait and bleed' Russia mysteriously never took place. The NATO emblems on seized Ukrainian Army laptops just vanish, like the disappearing poster girl on the NATO twitter with that cute little Black Sun patch,” Welch commented to Press TV.

Beyond NATOstan, millions root for Russia

There are lots and lots of people who understand the position that the US and NATO has put Russia in, writes Daniel Patrick Welch.

"Besides, they're a bit late to the party, aren't they? Experts have been warning them for 30 years that an aggressive NATO came with the threat of World War III. Now they have to pretend they are somehow not involved in this, because the whole thing is their doing. This really has little to do with Ukraine or Russia. NATO, the UN veto-proof army of the US' coalition of the willing of the week, is a Frankenstein waging war after war. It has to be stopped, “he said.

Biden moves to reimpose Cold War trade restraints on Russia

Biden said on Friday he is working with the US Congress and other Group of Seven (G-7) nations to revoke the “most favored nation” trade status for Russia, as part of a new tranche of penalties in response to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

Biden said the coordinated move would deal “another crushing blow to the Russian economy." He made the remarks at a White House event to announce coordinated action with Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom as well as the European Union.

The latest move in an escalating series of economic measures the White House has taken against Russia would return trade relations between the United States and Russia to Cold War-era status.

“Revoking PNTR for Russia is going to make it harder for Russia to do business with the United States and doing it in unison with other nations that make up half of the global economy will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy. It’s already suffering very badly from our sanctions,” Biden said.

Biden also banned imports of Russian seafood, vodka and diamonds, which White House officials said collectively totaled more than $1 billion.

In addition, Biden said that the G-7 would deny Russia the ability to borrow from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.  

“Putin must pay the price,” Biden said. “He cannot pursue a war that threatens the very foundations — which he is doing — the very foundations of international peace and stability and then ask for financial help from the international community.” 

US Treasury imposes sanctions on Russian oligarchs, elites 

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on more Russian oligarchs, leaders and elites, targeting members of the lower house of parliament, including billionaire Viktor Vekselberg.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement that those who were sanctioned include 10 people comprising VTB Bank's board, 12 members of the Duma and family members of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to Reuters.

The Treasury the sanctioned people supported Russian President Vladimir Putin's military operation in Ukraine.

“Treasury continues to hold Russian officials to account for enabling Putin’s unjustified and unprovoked war,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “Today’s actions also further isolate the severely damaged Russian economy by prohibiting trade in products that are key to the economic and financial interests of all Russian elites.”

US sanctions 'akin to a declaration of war'

The Biden administration has imposed harsh economic and banking sanctions on Russia in response to Russia's military actions in Ukraine.

Biden said the sanctions would limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen.

The US president claimed that the only other alternative to the sanctions would be to start a “Third World War.”

Russia under Putin is fighting against American imperialism: Journalist

Putin has taken on the role of an anti-imperialist power, placing it at odds with the United States, the sole imperial power seeking global hegemony, according to Patrick Lawrence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week said that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war.

He also warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would lead to catastrophic consequences for the world.

Putin said his country is defending Russian-speaking communities through the "demilitarisation and de-Nazification" of Ukraine so that their neighbor became neutral and no longer threatened Russia.

"These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that," Putin said.

He warned that any attempt by another power to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be considered by Russia to be a step into the military conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the US to establish "no-fly zones" to protect Ukraine from Russian airstrikes and stop buying Russian oil and gas. Some US lawmakers have also pushed for establishing the no-fly zone over Ukraine, something Biden has dismissed the notion of no-fly zones because of the risk of “a potential direct war with Russia.”

Biden said the US has no intention of sending American forces into Ukraine to fight Russia, warning that doing so would likely lead to a protracted and potentially global war with another nuclear power.

"The President and our NATO partners have not changed their assessment about their plans to send US troops in," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday after warning Russia could be setting up a pretext for a chemical weapons attack.

Biden said Friday Russia would pay a "severe price" if it carries out a chemical weapons attack.

Analyst: US chemical weapons claim is a distraction from revelation of US bio-weapons in Ukraine

The White House’s warning of the potential for Russia to use chemical weapons in Ukraine “has to be viewed as a warning that the US plans to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, and to then try to blame it on Russia."

The White House’s warning of the potential for Russia to use chemical weapons in Ukraine “has to be viewed as a warning that the US plans to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, and to then try to blame it on Russia,” according to American journalist and political analyst Don DeBar.

But, in an interview with Press TV on Thursday, DeBar warned that “they'll be making a severe miscalculation.”

“This statement from the White House, assuming Biden understood it or saw it before Jen Psaki made it, has to be viewed as a warning that the US plans to use chemical weapons in Ukraine, and to then try to blame it on Russia,” he pointed out.

“If they do that,” DeBar added, “they'll be making a severe miscalculation. No one in the world - except perhaps half, or less, of the American people - will believe it. And I'm not referring to that measure of public opinion which the New York Times or CNN or Reuters polls will show. I'm talking about what the actual people here will be willing to believe in the midst of their own suffering, with $5 to $10 a gallon gas and bread that's about to triple or quadruple in price.”

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