Biden Says U.S. Will ‘Never, Never, Never’ Recognise Russia's Claims On Ukraine Sovereign Territory

As Russia's Vladimir Putin is expected to move forward today with the annexation of four Ukrainian territories, the U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to “never, never, never” recognise Moscow's claims on Ukraine sovereign territory, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

“I want to be very clear about this. The United States will never, never never recognise Russia’s claims on Ukraine sovereign territory. The so-called referenda was a sham, an absolute sham,” Biden said as he met Pacific Island leaders in Washington.

"The true will of the Ukrainian people is evident every day as they sacrifice their lives to save their people and maintain the independence of their country and in defense of freedom as well," Biden added.

In a joint declaration issued Thursday night, Biden and Pacific leaders noted that they "condemn all wars of aggression, including Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine."

The State Department, in its turn, made it clear that the U.S, and its allies and partners "will continue to assist Ukraine in its fight to defend its territory against Russian aggression."

"We wholeheartedly support Ukraine’s unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The move came just hours after Russia's Putin accused the West of "working on scenarios to fuel new conflicts" in the post-Soviet space.

"It is enough to look at what is happening now between Russia and Ukraine, and at what is happening on the borders of some other CIS countries. All this, of course, is the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union," Putin said in a televised meeting with intelligence chiefs of former Soviet countries.

When asked by TURAN's Washington correspondent for reaction to Putin's latest accusations, State Department's principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily press briefing that "this isn’t about" the United States. "This is about Russia and Russia’s infringement on basic human rights, as well as Russia’s illegal and unjust efforts in Ukraine, its invasion of Ukraine, its sham referendum, and now its potential annexation of territory that is Ukrainian and will be – will remain Ukrainian," Patel said.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.