Kamala Harris told reporters Sunday that the U.S. may face 'some costs' associated with involvement in Europe should Russia invade Ukraine, which she claims is all but certain.
When asked before departing Germany for the U.S. if Americans should be braced for economic fallout from involvement, the vice president said 'sure.'
'When America stands for principles, and all of the things that we hold dear, it requires sometimes for us to put ourselves out there in a way that maybe we will incur some cost,' Harris told a group of seven reporters in Munich on Sunday. 'And in this situation, that may relate to energy costs, for example.'
'But we are taking very specific and appropriate, I believe, steps to mitigate what that cost might be if it happens,' she added.
Harris also repeated President Joe Biden's claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already made up his mind that he will invade Ukraine and admitted the path for diplomacy is 'narrowing'.
'We believe he has made his decision. Period,' she said when asked if there was any evidence to point to impending invasion.
Harris publicly warned Putin in a Saturday speech at the Munich Security Conference of the 'swift and severe' consequences he will face if he escalates tensions in Eastern Europe, but reiterated on Sunday that sanctions will not be imposed until the point of invasion.
'The purpose of the sanctions has always been and continues to be deterrence,' Harris said. 'But let's also recognize the unique nature of the sanctions that we have outlined. These are some of the greatest sanctions, if not the strongest that we've ever issued, as I articulated yesterday. It is directed at institutions, in particular financial institutions, and individuals, and it will exact absolute harm for the Russian economy and their government.'
It is unclear how the U.S. intends to 'deter' with sanctions if the administration will not allow Congress to pass a sanctions act before the point of invasion.
One reporter pointed to this on Sunday, asking: 'But if Putin has made up his mind, do you feel that this threat that has been looming is really going to deter him?'
'Absolutely,' Harris insisted.
Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs Munich, Germany on Sunday en route back to Washington, D.C. after attending and delivering a speech at the Munich Security Conference
Harris, dressed in all black, told reporters before departing a windy Germany on Sunday that the U.S. would face 'some costs' by getting involved in Eastern Europe tensions
'When America stands for principles, and all of the things that we hold dear, it requires sometimes for us to put ourselves out there in a way that maybe we will incur some cost,' Harris told a group of reporters in Munich Sunday.
The Vice President reiterated during her talk with reporters that sanctions will not be imposed until the point Russia invades Ukraine, which she suggested is inevitable
Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) met in Munich on Saturday. Zelensky said sanctions are no good to Ukraine if they are issued following an invasion
'The Allied relationship is such that we have agreed that the deterrence effect of these sanctions is still a meaningful one,' she continued. 'Especially because remember also, we still sincerely hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment. And within the context, then, of the fact that that window is still opening, although I open although it is absolutely narrowing, but within the context of a diplomatic path still being open. The deterrence effect we believe has merit.'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for sanctions to be imposed immediately, claiming it was no good to him if they were enacted after Putin attacked.
'What are you waiting for?' he said Saturday. 'We don't need your sanctions after the bombardment will happen.'
'Why would we need those sanctions then?' he lamented.
On Sunday, Zelensky called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern part of Ukraine, where clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces intensified in recent days.
The Ukrainian president also said he supports peace talks within the Trilateral Contact Group. The group includes Ukraine, Russian and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and is meant to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine.
'We stand for intensifying the peace process. We support the immediate convening of the TCG and the immediate introduction of a regime of silence,' Zelensky tweeted.
Harris said in a Saturday speech that the U.S. and its allies have tried to engage with Russia to find diplomatic solution but their effort have not been met by the Kremlin in good faith. She claimed Sunday that the window for diplomacy is 'narrowing'
At the Munich Security Conference, Harris said the U.S. and its allies were prepared to impose significant and unprecedented economic costs on Russia if it further invades Ukraine
Harris, Zelensky and their aides all masked up for a round-table discussion at the Munich Security Conference
President Joe Biden did not attend the Munich event this weekend. He is pictured leaving The Hamilton restaurant in Washington D.C. on Saturday with his granddaughters Naomi and Finnegan
Harris on Saturday branded Putin a 'lying propagandist' after a car bomb destroyed a pipeline, forcing the evacuation of 700,000. American intelligence officials are hoping to reveal Russian attempts to stoke tensions with fake attacks and altered video.
The Vice President said during her Saturday speech that the U.S and its allies were prepared to impose significant and unprecedented economic costs on Russia if it further invades Ukraine.
'Let me be clear, I can say with absolute certainty, if Russia further invades Ukraine, the United States together with our allies and partners will impose significant and unprecedented economic costs,' Harris said at the annual conference of the world's top national security officials.
Putin did not attend this year's Munich Security Conference, and has yet to comment on Harris's criticism. President Biden also stayed away, and was pictured leaving The Hamilton restaurant in DC Saturday with his granddaughters Naomi and Finnegan.Harris was pictured next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the event, alongside other leaders. The Vice President and her fellow lawmakers were all masked-up, even though she has been fully-vaccinated and boosted against COVID.
Also present at the conference were Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who posed unmasked for a photo with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Pelosi was later pictured sitting down while wearing a mask and chatting to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, as well as his Democrat colleague Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
The Vice President said the US and its allies has tried to engage with Russia to find diplomatic solution but their effort have not been met by the Kremlin in good faith.
'Russia continues to say it is ready to talk while at the same time it narrows the avenues for diplomacy,' Harris said. 'Their actions simply do not match their words.'
Harris also accused Putin of feigning 'ignorance and innocence' as he works on fabricating a false pretext for invading Ukraine, CNN reported.
She was likely referring to two recent bombing attacks over the last day, which the US has accused the Kremlin of staging to give Putin a pretext for war.
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