President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. and allied commitment to Ukraine “will not weaken” as he highlighted NATO support for Kyiv more than 500 days after Russia’s invasion. Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania at the conclusion of the alliance’s annual summit, Biden told a crowd of cheering thousands, “our unity will not falter — I promise you.” Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital, as reported by the Associated Press:
Biden: NATO unity behind Ukraine will not falter
Newslooks- VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP)
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. and allied commitment to Ukraine “will not weaken” as he highlighted NATO support for Kyiv more than 500 days after Russia’s invasion.
Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania at the conclusion of the alliance’s annual summit, Biden told a crowd of cheering thousands, “our unity will not falter — I promise you.”
Biden said the response to the Ukraine crisis is a model for the U.S. and its allies for how to respond to other global challenges, from climate change to China, saying their position is stronger when they “build the broadest and deepest coalition.”
He praised Ukraine’s defenders and their Western backers who have sent billions in weapons and economic assistance to support the country’s fight against Russian forces.
“We will not waver,” Biden said. “I mean that. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
The remarks come after NATO brushed off Ukraine’s request for a swift on-ramp into the alliance, but as the allies held open the door for Kyiv to eventually join.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says his country will sign on to a Group of Seven declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Spain isn’t a G-7 nation but has helped Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid, including Leopard tanks. Sánchez’s government also announced Wednesday that it plans to deploy some 700 troops to Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, for the first time to lead a NATO combat group.
Separately, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni noted that the war in Ukraine has had “important repercussions on developing countries” and said she requested “greater attention to the southern flank” of Europe, which includes Spain.
Meloni’s stress on Europe’s southern border on the Mediterranean Sea is rooted in her determination to choke off smuggling of migrants from launching points in North Africa. Italy, one of the G-7 industrialized nations, is a primary destination for migrants crossing the sea.
“It’s not an Italian problem,’’ she said, expressing satisfaction that “there seems to be a greater awareness” of a need for a strategic approach to that part of Europe.
The comments came toward the end of the two-day NATO summit in Lithuania.
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What to know:
— Ukraine wins G7 security pledges but its NATO membership remains elusive
— Turkey won’t ratify Sweden’s NATO membership before October, Erdogan says
— Biden and Zelenskyy praise each other despite divisions over Ukraine war
— Greece and Turkey pledge to ‘reset’ ties and bypass longstanding disputes
— NATO’s Article 5 stands in way of Ukraine joining alliance while at war
— NATO summit in brief: Mixed news for Ukraine and a response to Russia
