Tensions In Ukraine: Biden Believes Putin Will Move In.
'US Vice President Joe Biden believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin will "go in" on Ukraine, but that he does not want a "full-blown conflict."
Mr Putin would pay a "severe and dear price" for invading, he said at a news conference, but a minor incursion would be regarded differently.
Later, the White House stated that any military move by Russia will be greeted with a rapid and strong retaliation from the West.
Although Russia has 100,000 troops along the border, it denies plans to invade.
President Putin has made a number of requests to the West, including that Ukraine be denied membership in Nato and that the defence alliance cease military operations in Eastern Europe.
The West and Russia have yet to achieve an agreement, with some of Moscow's requests being dismissed as non-starters. On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, after warning that Russia could strike Ukraine "at any time."
"There are divisions in Nato as to what countries are willing to do, depending on what happens," Mr Biden said at a news conference on Wednesday.
"I believe that if Russian military reach the border, everything changes."
"What you'll see is that if Russia invades, it will be held accountable, and it will depend on what it does," he said. "It's one thing if it's a tiny infiltration, but then we have to battle over what to do and what not to do, and so on."
Following Mr Biden's remarks, White House officials hurried to clarify the US position. "Any Russian military forces crossing the Ukrainian border constitutes a new invasion, and it will be met with a prompt, stern, and united response from the United States and its Allies," warned White House press secretary Jen Psaki.