Putin Splits NATO: Holds Talks With Germany, France, And Ukraine - Cuts U.S. Out Of The Process

Putin splits NATO and cuts out Biden: Russian president agrees to hold talks with Germany, France and Ukraine as squabbling NATO countries fail to decide joint troop deployment and Joe says he'll go it alone

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to meet with Germany, France and Ukraine over the Ukraine-Russian border crisis
• The European-led talk, which will be held in two weeks in Berlin, is said to focus on ''de-escalation' and excludes NATO and the US 
• Joe Biden on Friday evening said that he would be moving some troops to Eastern Europe - but 'not too many' - as tensions mount in Ukraine
• Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops around Ukraine after a steady buildup in the region and may be planning an invasion in February 
• Chairman of Joint Chiefs Gen Milley warned of 'horrific' consequences if Russia put its 100,000-plus force to work on an invasion 
• Hours earlier Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the world was overreacting to the threat of a Russian invasion of his country 
• Zelensky chided world leaders for their public statements, saying 'we don't need this panic' and condemning the withdrawal of diplomats   
• UK intelligence source suggested Putin will continue massing forces for 'two or three weeks' before attacking 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to hold talks with Germany, France and Ukraine as NATO fails to take action on the rising conflict in Easter Europe and President Joe Biden's announcement on Friday that he would deploy troops 'in the near term' without backing from NATO.  

The blow to NATO and exclusion of America in negotiation talks on the Russian-Ukraine crisis came after Putin accused the U.S. and NATO of ignoring the Kremlin's 'fundamental concerns' over NATO's growth during a call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. 

During the call, Putin argued that the West had refused Russians demands of 'preventing NATO expansion, refusing to deploy strike weapons systems near Russian borders' and withdrawing allied forces to positions they held in 1997, prior to NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe, Politico reported.  

Rather than meet with NATO, Putin has agreed to discuss the issue with the European-led Normandy Format, a grouping that includes France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia. Their meetings center on the cease-fire agreement that the countries brokered in eastern Ukraine in 2015, and it also offers a path to a broader settlement.

Although the scheduled talks between the European nations raises hopes for peace, it undermines America's involvement by excluding the U.S, and NATO as Ukrainian officials said they were annoyed by Biden's vow to mobilize troops in the area without NATO's backing.    

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