WARSAW (AP) – President Joe Biden ended a whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine on Wednesday by assuring NATO allies on the eastern flank that his administration is well-prepared to deal with the looming threats and other repercussions that have prompted of Russia’s escalating invasion of Ukraine.
Before leaving Warsaw, Biden held talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of countries in the easternmost part of the NATO alliance that met in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. from Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine continues, concerns among the Bucharest Nine countries remain high. Many worry that Putin may take further military action against them if he succeeds in Ukraine. The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
“When Russia invaded, it was not only Ukraine that was tested. The whole world is facing a trial for the ages,” Biden said in a speech from the foot of Warsaw’s Royal Castle on Tuesday to mark the somber milestone of the one-year Russian invasion. “Europe is being tested. America is being tested. NATO is being tested. All democracies are being tested.”
Addressing concerns among NATO members that they could be next, Biden pledged on Tuesday America’s strong commitment to the mutual defense agreement and the defense of Ukraine.
“The appetites of the autocrat are insatiable,” he said. “They must be opposed.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the right-wing populist leader argued last week that the European Union was partly to blame. for prolonging Russia’s war in Ukraine, refusing sanctions on Moscow and arming Kyiv. Orban skipped the meeting with Biden, and President Katalin Novák attended in his place.
Putin on Tuesday gave his own speech, in which he criticized Ukraine and its Western allies. The Russian president also announced that Moscow would be suspended its participation in the last remaining US-Russia arms control treaty. The move is expected to have an immediate impact on US visibility of Russia’s nuclear activities, but the agreement is now on life support.
Putin’s decision to suspend cooperation with Russia on the treaty’s nuclear warhead and missile inspections follows Moscow’s cancellation late last year of talks intended to salvage a deal that both sides accuse of violating .
Biden met Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to topple her country’s government using external saboteurs.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europe’s poorest countries, the Eastern European country has historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Biden in his words endorsed Moldova’s bid to join the EU.
“I am proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova,” Biden said of Sandu and his country in his speech on Tuesday.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic with about 2.6 million people, is seeking to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, on the same day as Ukraine.
Sandu spoke last week about a plot by Russia “to overthrow the constitutional order.” He spoke after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had thwarted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. The claims were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
Biden’s speech on the war in Ukraine came a day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a great gesture of unity in Ukraine. The address was partly an affirmation of Europe’s role in helping Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing invasion and partly a stern warning to Putin that the US would not comply with Moscow defeating Ukraine.
The White House praised several eastern countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Romania, last year for stepping up efforts to support Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and to take in refugees.
Biden paid particular attention to Poland’s efforts. The country hosts about 1.5 million refugees in Ukraine and has provided $3.8 billion in military and economic aid. to Kiev.
“The truth of the matter is: The United States needs Poland and NATO as much as NATO needs the United States,” Biden said during talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
