Dictators would pay a price for invading a foreign country: Biden

Washington: Accusing his Russian counterpart of waging a “premeditated and unprovoked” war against Ukraine, President Joe Biden in his maiden State of the Union Address asserted that “dictators” like Vladimir Putin would “pay a price” for “invading” a foreign country.
Set upon a backdrop of a conflict in Ukraine that grows deadlier each day, Biden called for a united resistance to Russia’s aggression and sought to reassure pandemic-weary Americans who are also feeling the pinch of rising inflation.
“A Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, has costs around the world,” Biden said in a prime-time speech, nearly a week after President Putin ordered a special military operation against Ukraine.
“Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising,” the 79-year-old Democrat, the oldest serving US President, said addressing the joint session of the US Congress.
“That’s why the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War II. The United States is a member along with 29 other nations. It matters. American diplomacy matters, he said, launching a blistering attack on the 69-year-old Russian president.
“Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready, Biden said.