Risk of a Ukraine war remains; Pullback of Russian troops not yet verified

{O/C} It was the same gripe in yet another day of negotiations aimed at putting an end to the tense standoff on the Ukrainian border.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would partially pull back troops from the Ukrainian border, U.S. President Joe Biden cautioned against paying scant attention to Russia's every coming move.

{SOT}

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have made all the right noises about the tense standoff that has stretched into its third week.

He said on Tuesday that Russia would partially withdraw troops deployed near Ukraine's border as key players seek a diplomatic key to calling a halt to the crisis.

But that's nowhere near what U.S. President Joe Biden is demanding. He warned Russia is apparently not swerving from an incursion, given more than 150,000 troops are still encircling Ukraine. And Biden made clear America has not verified a pullback of Russian troops.

{Soundbite} JOE BIDEN, United States President: The Russian Defence Ministry reported today that some military units are leaving their positions near Ukraine. That would be good, but we have not yet verified that. We have not yet verified that Russian military units are returning to their home bases. Right now, Russia has more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine in Belarus and along Ukraine’s border. An invasion remains distinctly possible.

Negotiators are thrashing the bitter pill out despite floundering talks.

{Soundbite} As long as there is hope of a diplomatic resolution that prevents the use of force and avoids the incredible human suffering that would follow, we will pursue it.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has so far been reluctant to rip into the phoney war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, in a critical remark today, Biden insists if Russia dares attack the U.S. or its staunch allies, the U.S. will fight fire with fire.

On the other hand, Biden conceded an invasion could have a pernicious effect on energy prices.

{Soundbite} I will not pretend this will be painless. There could be impact on our energy prices, so we are taking active steps to alleviate the pressure on our own energy markets and offset rising prices.

In an apparent about-face on the crisis today, Putin adopted a more conciliatory tone as he made no secret of his intention to pull back menacing troops.

This, as tensions appear to be easing, albeit slightly.

After all, the eclectic carrot-and-stick approach adopted by the Kremlin appears to be going nowhere fast. The Biden administration has threatened to slap Russia with punitive economic sanctions while stressing things are not set in stone so as to leave itself some wiggle room in deterring Russia the miscreant from an incursion.