Biden’s call with allies as UNSC preps for emergency session on Ukraine

United States President Joe Biden is set to hold a call with allies on Monday to talk about the war in Ukraine. “11:15 AM [16:15 GMT] The President hosts a secure call with Allies and partners to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s attack on Ukraine and to coordinate our united response,” the White House said in its schedule for Monday. The White House refused to provide details as to who all will be a part of the telephonic conversation with Joe Biden.

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The “secure call” of the United States and its allies comes as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has called for an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the escalating situation in Ukraine. Earlier, the Biden administration strongly censured Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear alert by saying that the alert represents an unacceptable escalation of the full-scale war in Ukraine that started on February 24.

The United States has led the charge of the West condemning Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and has imposed a slew of sanctions that target the Russian economy.

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However, amid the harsh sanctions imposed by the US, oil and gas from Russia will continue to flow freely to the rest of the world. Since the attack on Ukraine, US President Biden defended his decision to preserve access to Russian energy to limit the pain the American citizens are feeling at the gas pump, according to a report by Reuters.

But some experts have pointed out that excluding an industry (in this the energy sector) at the heart of Russia’s economy will essentially limit the sanctions imposed.

“Politicians in the United States and Europe chose to carve out the one sector that might truly be decisive. I don’t think Russia is blind to what is going on and it must indicate to them that the West does not really have the stomach for a painful fight over Ukraine,” Columbia University historian Adam Tooze told Reuters.