WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will say on Tuesday that the West was ready for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his administration is prepared with a plan to fight inflation, according to excerpts of his State of the Union address.
“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,” Biden will say, according to excerpts of his address released by the White House.
Biden will say Putin eschewed efforts to prevent war.
“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,” Biden will say. “Putin was wrong. We were ready.”
The president will also address rising inflation in his remarks by calling for more cars and semiconductors to be made in the United States.
“My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit,” he will say. (Reporting by Jeff Mason Editing by Chris Reese)
