The United States and its NATO allies are “as strong and united” as ever in standing against Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, President Biden said Thursday following meetings in Belgium and Poland with leaders of NATO, the G7 and the European Union.
The White House called it an “extraordinary NATO summit.” The in-person meeting was held one month after Russian troops crossed into Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed leaders virtually.
NATO’s headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium.
Biden on Thursday said NATO leaders met to “reiterate our strong support for the Ukrainian people, our determination to hold Russia accountable for its brutal war, and our commitment to strengthening the NATO Alliance.”
The U.S. in recent weeks has announced $1 billion in new security assistance to Ukraine, Biden said.
A White House senior administration official said Zelensky, during his address to Biden and other leaders, “repeated his requests for continued and increased Western security assistance.”
“But notably, there was not a request for a no-fly zone,” the official said. “There was also not a request for NATO membership in his remarks.”
Zelensky spoke first, followed by Biden.
Biden reiterated the United States’ “strong support for Ukraine, both in terms of security assistance” and “humanitarian assistance,” the senior administrative official said.
Biden also reaffirmed America’s support for NATO’s Article 5, which holds that an “attack against one ally is considered as an attack against all allies.” Ukraine borders multiple NATO countries, including Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. Biden gave “a very strong message of support for NATO,” the official said, adding that the president listed “steps that the United States, in partnership with other allies, had taken in recent weeks to reinforce the security of the eastern flank.”
Biden also met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and “discussed the unity and strength of the alliance and NATO’s ongoing efforts to deter and defend against any aggression,” the White House said.
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Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Pool
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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