US hasn’t verified Russian pullback of troops near Ukraine

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, YURAS KARMANAU and AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he welcomes a security dialogue with the West as his military reported pulling back some of its troops near Ukraine. But U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. had not verified Russia’s claim and that an invasion is still a distinct possibility. Putin said Tuesday that he does not want war and would rely on negotiations as he presses his demand for the West to halt Ukraine’s bid to join NATO. At the same time, he did not commit to a full pullback of troops, saying Russia’s next moves in the standoff will depend on how the situation evolves.