Ukraine’s Zelensky seeks Biden’s support on Nato
President Joe Biden assured Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday that the United States opposes "Russian aggression" but he showed no sign of moving on requests to open Nato to the eastern European country.
"The United States remains firmly committed to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression and our support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations," Biden told the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office.
Zelensky, who spent Tuesday at the Pentagon pressing for military assistance to combat Russia and Russian-backed separatists, is only the second European leader to get a White House meeting so far under Biden.
The coronavirus pandemic and a hectic first seven months of the administration mean Biden has had few foreign visitors. Even Zelensky's meeting was delayed by two days due to the tense US withdrawal from Afghanistan, completed Monday.
"President Zelensky and Ukraine have gotten as much, if not more, attention from this administration than any other European country," a senior Biden administration official told reporters, asking not to be identified.
The White House visit was undoubtedly a triumph for Zelensky, who has been trying to line one up since he took office in 2019.
A former comedian virtually unknown in the West, he found himself caught in a US domestic political firestorm when then-president Donald Trump asked him to launch a spurious corruption probe into Biden's family ahead of the 2020 US presidential election.
Accusations that Trump tried to block military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelensky sparked an impeachment of the Republican.
The hard reality facing Zelensky, however, is that his most ambitious goals for the US-Ukrainian relationship face slow going.
In the Oval Office, he raised his government's top strategic dream -- membership in the NATO military alliance.
"I would like to discuss with President Biden his vision, his government's vision of Ukraine's chances to join NATO and the timeframe," he said.
But Biden has made clear he considers Ukraine far from ready to join -- and the United States far from ready to step over what Russia sees as a bright red line.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki insisted the White House continues "to support and we continue to call for ensuring that Nato's door remains open to aspirants."
However, she then enumerated the daunting conditions for membership: rule of law reforms, defense sector modernization and a vibrant economy.
Comments