Biden to give update on Russia, Ukraine: White House

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden will give an update regarding Russia and Ukraine later Tuesday, according to the White House.

"He will reiterate that the United States remains open to high-level diplomacy in close coordination with our Allies, building on the multiple diplomatic off-ramps we and our Allies and partners have offered Russia in recent months," it said. "The United States continues to believe diplomacy and de-escalation are the best path forward, but is prepared for every scenario.”

The announcement came hours after reports that Moscow said some troops are pulling back from Ukraine's border.

Biden is scheduled to give brief remarks from the East Room at 3.30 p.m. local time.

Moscow, according to Ukrainian officials and NATO, has recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning a military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused Western countries of undermining its security through NATO’s expansion toward its borders.

Russia also issued a list of security demands to the West, including a rollback of troop deployments from some ex-Soviet states, and guarantees that some of those states would not join NATO.

In a written response to the demands, Washington said it is committed to upholding NATO's “open door policy,” while NATO also conveyed the alliance's reply “in parallel with the United States.”