VILNIUS: President Joe Biden capped what he described as a historic NATO summit with optimistic resolve for Ukraine and a stern warning to Moscow.
The two-day meeting in Lithuania’s capital saw renewed support for Ukraine to join the alliance but stopped short of a specific timeline that Ukraine sought.
“We will not waver,” Biden repeated twice as he spoke to a crowd of thousands gathered at Vilnius University, a 4-century-old institution that has weathered the Baltic nation’s occupation by Polish, Russian, Soviet and German forces.
“Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken,” Biden said. “We will stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
He also delivered a stern warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Unfortunately, Russia has shown thus far no interest in a diplomatic outcome. Putin still wrongly believes he can outlast Ukraine. He can’t believe it’s their land, their country, their future. And even after all this time, Putin still doubts our staying power. He’s still making a bad bet,” Biden said.
Cluster munitions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday defended Washington’s decision to provide Kyiv with cluster munitions, weapons banned by more than 120 countries for their indiscriminate killing capability, saying it will help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression.
“It’s very simple to criticize cluster munitions,” Zelenskyy said to reporters during his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. “This decision will help us save us,” he added..
Washington’s decision has created discomfort among some NATO allies, many of whom are signatories of the convention that bans the weapons.
The Ukrainian leader noted that Moscow employs cluster munitions in the battlefield. “I didn’t hear some of you countries criticize Russia,” he said
Biden and Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the alliance’s summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on Wednesday, where NATO leaders closed their two-day gathering with renewed support for Kyiv to join the alliance but stopped short of any specific commitments or timeline that Zelenskyy has sought.
“Today, we meet as equals. I look forward to the day we meet as allies,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
(VOA)
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