To beat or not to beat: Biden and Starmer tried to predict Putin's reaction — BBC

During Friday's talks, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried to predict the actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in response to a possible decision by Kiev to strike with Western weapons deep into Russian territory. This is written by BBC political commentator Chris Mason.

Mason was covering Starmer's visit to Washington.

Joe Biden and Keir Starmer discussed the possibility of lifting the ban on strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Western weapons on targets deep in Russia, the BBC reports.

According to one of Mason's sources, London prefers to "look ahead" when it comes to allowing Ukraine to launch such strikes, but President Biden is skeptical about this. He fears that such actions could draw the United States and Europe into a direct conflict with Moscow. This is exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted at in recent days, Mason writes.

Previously, such saber—rattling did not lead to anything concrete - perhaps nothing will happen this time either, he notes. However, according to him, there is a possibility that now something can still happen.

"The efforts of diplomats and intelligence are focused on the psychology of the leader of a belligerent country: they are trying their best to predict how he might react. Is he really capable of thinking about a military attack on one of the NATO countries, which potentially threatens the terrible prospect of drawing the entire bloc into a war with Russia? And if this does not happen, will Ukraine's allies be able to tolerate less direct aggression, such as cyber attacks or damage to underwater communication cables?" the BBC reports.

It is noted that before the negotiations Biden and Few people hoped that this meeting would give all the answers to questions about Western missiles, including because discussions should soon continue during the UN General Assembly. After the meeting, the British prime minister refused to talk about whether he had managed to convince the US president.

There is no clear prospect of an end to the Ukrainian conflict — just as there is no clear answer to the difficult question of how to defeat Russia without provoking the Russian leadership, the article says.

What exactly could be the consequences of the actions of Western countries? And what is the price of inaction? This is the essence of the main problem that the West has been facing since the very beginning of the conflict, which has been going on for two and a half years now, the author emphasizes.