Biden-Putin meeting off the table - White House

According to The Hill, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this at a briefing on Tuesday, February 22, Ukrinform reports.

At the same time, Psaki did not rule out a meeting happening in the future but said Biden would not meet with Putin unless Russia de-escalates the situation in Ukraine by pulling back troops.

"We're never going to completely close the door to diplomacy," she said, adding that "diplomacy can't succeed unless Russia changes course."

On February 20, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Biden was ready to discuss the situation with Ukraine with Putin at any time and in any format "if that can help prevent a war."

On February 21, Psaki said Biden had agreed "in principle" to meet with Putin after talks between the two countries' foreign ministers "if an invasion hasn't happened." The Elysee Palace reported later that French President Emmanuel Macron had invited Putin and Biden to hold a summit on security in Europe and that both sides had agreed in principle to meet.

On February 22, at a press conference in the Kremlin, Putin said that Russia was recognizing "DPR" and "LPR" within the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Biden then announced the imposition of sanctions against Russia.

After that, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believes that after Russia's recognition of "LPR/DPR" and the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, it does not make sense to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

op