MADRID – President Joe Biden vowed Thursday the US and its NATO allies would back Ukraine “for as long as it takes” in its war with Russia.
Russia is paying “a very, very heavy price” for its decision to invade Ukraine, Biden said, during a news conference in Madrid at the close of a six-day trip to Europe, which included a summit of NATO leaders.
Earlier this month, Moscow defaulted on its national debt for the first time in a century and its economy has suffered because of sanctions imposed by the US and its NATO allies.
Biden said Russia has lots of its “international standing” and suffered another military setback with its withdrawal forces from Snake Islanda strategically important island that sits along a busy shipping lane in the Black Sea and has come to symbolize Ukrainian resistance to the invasion.
“I don’t know how it’s going to end,” Biden said of the war, “but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine.”
That’s a wrap. Here’s what you missed
- NATO leaders declared Russia as the “most significant and direct threat” to their members’ peace and security and vowed to strengthen their support for Ukraine.
- Biden pledged to boost US military strength in eastern Europe, including establishing a permanent presence in Poland and enhancing rotational deployments in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
- The US said it also is sending two additional F-35 squadrons to the UK, stationing two more destroyers in Spain and will improve defense capabilities in Germany and Italy.
- Before his arrival in Spain on Tuesday, Biden huddled with leaders of the world’s economic powerhouses at the Group of Seven summit in Germany.
- G7 leaders moved closer to capping the price that countries can pay for Russian oil as a way to restrict Putin’s cash flow and bring down prices at the pump.
‘A KICK IN THE GUT’: Finland’s, Sweden’s drive to join NATO a defeat for Putin, a win for the West
MAKING PUTIN PAY:G-7 nations move closer to price cap for Russian oil; US official says group eyes Putin’s cash flow
The latest
- NATO expansion: NATO leaders have formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance. The invitation comes after Turkey dropped its objections to the Nordic nations’ membership.
- Months to go: Final approval could still be months away because the legislative bodies of all 30 NATO countries must vote to accept their membership.
- food security: Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met on the sidelines of the NATO summit Wednesday. Biden praised the Turkish leader for dropping his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance and lauded Erdoğan’s work to address food insecurity stemming from the war in Ukraine.
Biden calls Roe v. Wade ruling ‘outrageous’
Biden’s trip to Europe was largely overshadowed by domestic issues, including a Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion and blockbuster testimony before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack against the Capitol.
In his news conference, Biden said the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion has been “destabilizing.”
“We’ve been a leader in the world in terms of personal rights and privacy rights, and it is a mistake in my view for the Supreme Court to do what it did,” he said.
The day before Biden left Washington, the Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 ruling last Friday that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
Biden called the ruling “outrageous” and said Congress must change the decision by codifying Roe v. Wade into law.
Boosting oil production ‘not the purpose’ of Saudi Arabia trip
Biden said his trip to Saudi Arabia next month is not aimed at getting the crown price to increase Saudi oil production to combat rising fuel costs in the US
“That’s not the purpose of the trip,” Biden said at a news conference in Madrid, adding that the trip will focus on the broader Gulf region. “I’m in Saudi Arabia, but it’s not about Saudi Arabia.”
Biden has faced criticism for planning to meet with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.
Biden said he expects he will see the crown prince and King Salman, but “they’ll be part of a much larger meeting.”
The president noted that his trip to the Middle East begins with a visit to Israel “to affirm the unbreakable bond” between it has with the US
“There’s a whole range of things that go well beyond anything having to do with Saudi,” Biden said.
US considering sale of fighter jets to Turkey
The US signaled its support on Wednesday for the sale of new F-16 fighter jets to Turkey ahead of a meeting in Madrid between Biden and the Turkish president.
Turkey had been blocking Sweden and Finland’s application to join NATO but removed its opposition on the first day of the summit – hours after Biden spoke to Erdoğan by phone.
An official told reporters traveling with Biden in Madrid that the US did not offer Turkey anything to drop its objections. The president did not respond to a question later in the day about the possible sale of F-16 jets.
What they’re saying
- “The United States supports Turkey’s modernization of its fighter fleet because that is a contribution to NATO security and therefore American security,” said Celeste Wallander, an assistant secretary at the Department of Defense.
- Durbin said that if a deal was struck because the US agreed to sell Turkey fighter jets he would support the sale. “I think that the accession of Finland and Sweden changes the calculus of the NATO protection, and Putin could not have imagined that NATO would be even stronger after his invasion,” he said.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said allies would spend their final morning together discussing the “causes of instability” in southern nations and terrorism.
- “The Middle East, North Africa and the Sahara regions face interconnected security, demographic economic and political challenges, aggravated by the impact of climate change and food insecurity caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine,” he said.
CAN I SUCCEED? Facing upheaval at home, Biden seeks to keep NATO military alliance behind Ukraine
Francesca Chambers and Michael Collins cover the White House. Follow Chambers on Twitter @fran_chambers and Collins @mcollinsNEWS.
Contributing: Joey Garrison
feeds.feedblitz.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism