Ukraine will stop Putin, Biden tells NATO in forceful speech

WASHINGTON >> President Joe Biden pledged to forcefully defend Ukraine against Russian invasion at the NATO summit in Washington on Tuesday, using the world stage to try to show allies at home and abroad that he can still lead.

Biden, 81, has endured 12 days of scathing questions about his fitness for office, as some of his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill and campaign donors fear he will lose the Nov. 5 election after a faltering performance in the June 27 debate.

“(Vladimir) Putin wants nothing less than the total subjugation of Ukraine … and to wipe it off the map,” Biden said in his welcoming remarks to NATO member states at the summit, referring to the Russian president. “Ukraine can and will stop Putin.”

The White House hopes he can turn the page on a difficult period in his presidency with his most high-profile policy speech since the debate, though some diplomats at the summit said the damage was hard to undo.

On Tuesday, Biden spoke through a teleprompter with a strong, confident voice, largely avoiding the verbal gaffes and signs of confusion that marked his debate performance.

Biden was framed by the gilded walls of the Federal Hall where the treaty creating NATO was signed, his speech framed by stirring musical performances by the U.S. Marine Corps Band.

“Today, NATO is stronger than it has ever been in its history,” he said.

Biden has rebuffed calls to withdraw from the White House race against Republican Donald Trump, 78, by vowing to beat him in November. So far, he has retained the public support of most of his party’s elites.

The US president has made rebuilding traditional alliances abroad the centrepiece of his foreign policy after Trump defied his allies in an “America First” approach. The winner of the November election could have a huge impact on the future of NATO, Europe and the rest of the world.

“We don’t see how he could come back after the debate,” said one European diplomat, who dismissed Tuesday’s speech as evidence of Biden’s endurance because it was scripted. “I can’t imagine him leading the United States and NATO for four more years.”

Trump has suggested that if he runs for a second term, he would not defend NATO members if they are attacked militarily and if they fail to meet the alliance’s goal of spending 2 percent of their annual GDP on defense. He has also questioned the amount of aid given to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Biden concluded his speech by surprising NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, clasping the Norwegian politician’s highest civilian honor around his neck and crediting him with reviving the 32-member alliance.

UKRAINE FIGHTS FOR MORE

The NATO summit is expected to see new commitments for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the summit would “further strengthen” the war-torn country’s path to NATO membership.

Biden and the leaders of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania issued a joint statement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing the delivery of five additional Patriots and other strategic air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities, civilians and troops.

They said additional air defense systems would be announced this year. Zelensky, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday and is scheduled to meet Biden on Thursday, said Ukraine needs a minimum of seven Patriot systems, a goal met by the new deliveries announced on Tuesday.

“We are fighting for additional security guarantees for Ukraine – and these are weapons, finances, political support,” he said on social media.

Ukraine wants to eventually join NATO to guard against future Russian attacks, but candidates must be approved by all alliance members, some of whom fear provoking direct conflict with Russia.

Some members want the alliance to make clear to Ukraine that its rapprochement with NATO is “irreversible” and want the summit statement to go beyond the alliance’s commitment last year that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO.”

BIDEN’S PERFORMANCE?

NATO, celebrating its 75th anniversary, has found a new purpose in opposing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the bitter war will dominate private conversations between the countries’ leaders.

Those leaders, already worried about Trump’s return, came to Washington with new concerns about Biden’s longevity, according to diplomats from their countries.

Biden will hold a rare solo news conference on Thursday, also aimed at calming concerns.

As Biden tried to rally allies and domestic support, several senior European officials met with a top Trump foreign policy adviser at the summit.

NATO leaders face political uncertainty in Europe, with paralysis looming in France after the victory of left-wing and far-right parties and the weakening of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition after a poor showing in European Parliament elections.

A U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday that Russia would prefer Trump to win the upcoming election.

New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said as he headed to his first NATO summit that he would stick to his campaign pledge to increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, but stressed he would only do so when the country could afford it and after a review of defence strategy.

A senior NATO official said Tuesday that Russia does not have the munitions and troops needed to launch a major offensive in Ukraine and must obtain significant supplies of munitions from other countries beyond what it already has.

But he estimated that Russia would be able to maintain its war economy for another three to four years and also said that “it will be some time” before Ukraine has amassed the munitions and personnel it needs to mount its own large-scale offensive operations.