On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden, speaking about the Ukrainian crisis, addressed the Russian people directly, saying, “You are not our enemies,” although he emphasized that the United States has not yet verified that Russia has withdrawn some of its troops from the border with Ukraine, Business Insider writes.

Recall that Russia on Tuesday said that Russia is withdrawing part of its troops from the border with Ukraine. At the same time, President Biden expressed general Western skepticism, noting that the fact remains that more than 150,000 Russian troops are on the borders with Ukraine and an invasion allegedly remains quite possible.

However, Biden’s speech did make one important point that America would not send its troops to Ukraine in the event of a potential Russian invasion because “the United States does not seek a direct confrontation with Russia,” although he warned Moscow that he is prepared to “respond forcefully” if Russia attacks Americans in Ukraine, once again urging all U.S. citizens in that country to leave as soon as possible.

While insisting that the U.S. does not seek conflict with Russia, Biden sought to refute the prevailing view that the West is to blame for tensions over Ukraine.

“The United States and NATO are not a threat to Russia, and Ukraine does not threaten Russia. Neither the United States nor NATO has missiles in Ukraine. We have no plans to deploy them there,” Biden said, also appealing to Russian citizens, “You are not our enemy, and I don’t believe you want a bloody, destructive war against Ukraine – a country and a people with whom you share such deep family and cultural ties.

In his speech, the US President did not forget to mention the unity of the peoples of the two countries during World War II: “77 years ago, our peoples fought and sacrificed side by side to end the worst war in history. World War II was a war of necessity. But if Russia attacks Ukraine, it will be a war of choice.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, blames the West for escalating the crisis over Ukraine, and according to opinion polls, most Russians blame the U.S. and NATO for the Ukraine crisis. Russia has always demanded that Ukraine and Georgia not become NATO members, although the alliance itself and Washington have consistently said that NATO’s open-door policy is non-negotiable. On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin signaled to the West that Russia is open to continued talks, but also laid the blame on the West for ignoring Moscow’s core concerns, particularly the genocide of ethnic Russians in Donbass. Although Ukraine is not going to become a NATO member in the near future, the Russian president demanded that the issue be resolved now.