JAKARTA - The Biden administration on Sunday refused to lift sanctions on Russia, ahead of Russia's widely anticipated invasion of Ukraine, despite criticism from Kyiv and domestic critics.
The United States and Britain have repeatedly warned in recent days that Russia would launch a military invasion of Ukraine, a plan Russia denies. Sanctioning Vladimir Putin's government before he strikes will only ensure such a crisis is imminent, US officials argue.
"The purpose of sanctions in the first degree is to try to prevent Russia from going to war. As soon as you trigger them, the deterrence is gone," Foreign Minister Antony Blinken told CNN's 'State of the Union' show.
The West has threatened Moscow with tough economic sanctions if it goes ahead with the invasion, which they say will punish state banks and Russia's oligarchs, restrict exports and cripple the economy.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a number of critics argued that if the United States and its allies were so convinced President Putin was planning to attack, they should implement sanctions immediately.
"You told me 100 percent there would be a war within a few days. What are you waiting for?" a frustrated Zelenskiy critic asked the audience at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, repeating earlier calls for the West to impose sanctions on Russia now rather than later.
"We don't need your sanctions after a bombardment, or after a country in our territory is fired upon, or if we don't have borders anymore, we don't have an economy, or parts of our state are occupied," Zelenskiy said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Munich, US Vice President Kamala Harris said the sanctions to be imposed would be some of the "largest if not the strongest" in history, but repeating Secretary Blinken's view, there are still ways to stop Putin from invading.
"We have agreed that the deterrent effect of these sanctions is still significant, especially because, remember also, we still very much hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment," he said.
Separately, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, speaking on Fox News Sunday, questioned whether the United States had done everything it could to stop President Putin.
"Not far away, and tragically, Europe is on the brink of war because of Joe Biden's weakness," he criticized.
The Pentagon's Press Secretary John Kirby on the same occasion argued, Russia's sanctions will now trigger an invasion.
"If you punish someone for something they haven't done, then they probably will," said John Kirby at the same event as Cruz.
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