JAKARTA - Top US officials have described President Vladimir Putin's accusations, which the West has threatened Russia, a justification for invading Ukraine, as absurd.
President Putin made the claim in his annual state speech, which was delivered ahead of the anniversary of the Moscow invasion of Ukraine this weekend.
"No one attacks Russia. There is some kind of absurdity in the idea that Russia is under a form of military threat from Ukraine or anyone else," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
Speaking hours before President Joe Biden delivered his speech in Warsaw to mark the anniversary of the war launch by President Putin, Sullivan said the Kremlin leader was an aggressor.
"This is a war of choice. Putin chose to fight it. He could have chosen not to. And he could have chosen to end it, to go home," Sullivan said.
"Russia stopped fighting in Ukraine and returned home, the war was over. Ukraine stopped fighting, the United States and the coalition stopped helping them fight, then Ukraine disappeared from the map," he added.
Reviewing President Biden's speech, Sullivan said he would not "specifically sketch, a vision to end the war diplomatically".
Instead, he will focus on broader lessons from Ukraine in what it sees as a "pointback" in the global struggle between democracies and autocratic regimes.
"So his speech will speak specifically about the conflict in Ukraine, but of course, they will also talk about the bigger fight at stake between the aggressors who are trying to destroy fundamental principles, with united democracies trying to enforce it," he said.
It is known that President Biden is set to deliver his speech at around 16.30 GMT, after talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda, a day after a surprise visit to Kyiv.
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