Biden made the declaration as he attended the Bucharest Nine (B9) summit in the Polish capital, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Hosted by Polish President Andrzej Duda, Slovak President Zuzanna Čaputová and Romania's Klaus Iohannis, the meeting was also attended by the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Bulgaria, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
The talks focused on Russia's war in Ukraine and preparations for the Western military alliance's upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, according to officials.
‘You know better than anyone what's at stake in this conflict’
The US president, for whom it was the second day of his visit to Poland, praised the leaders of the B9 countries, and said that freedom and democracy “around the world” were at stake in helping Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion.
Biden told the gathering, as quoted by US broadcaster CNN: "You're the frontlines of our collective defense, and you know better than anyone what's at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe, and around the world."
‘We will defend literally every inch of NATO’: Biden
The US leader stressed: "Article 5 is a sacred commitment the United States has made," Polish state news agency PAP reported.
“We will defend literally every inch of NATO, every inch of NATO,” he said.
Biden vowed, as quoted by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper: “Together we’ll continue our enduring support for Ukraine as they defend their freedom over the past year, with your countries around this table, providing collective leadership.”
‘We must discuss further support to Ukraine’: Polish president
Meanwhile, the Polish president said: “What we wish to do today, is to think together, among the closest Allies, about our next steps in the run–up to the B9 Summit in Bratislava and the NATO summit in Vilnius, and about the possibilities to provide further support to Ukraine.”
‘We must give Ukraine what they need to prevail’: NATO chief
NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in his remarks he was “so pleased and so impressed” with the US president’s “outstanding leadership,” according to The Guardian.
He said Biden’s visit to Kyiv on Monday sent a clear message of “steadfast support to Ukraine” and of America's “ironclad commitment to the security of Europe.”
Stoltenberg warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “preparing for more war” and urged NATO allies: “We must give Ukraine what they need to prevail.”
Stoltenberg also said, as quoted by The Guardian: “We don’t know when the war will end but when it does, we need to ensure that history does not repeat itself. We have seen Russian aggression over many years – Georgia in 2008, Crimea and Donbas in 2014, and then the full fledged invasion of Ukraine last year.”
He stressed: “We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression. NATO allies have never been more united.”
The B9 meeting adopted a joint declaration.
After the meeting, Biden held more talks with the Polish head of state at Warsaw’s presidential palace, officials told reporters.
Wednesday is day 364 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, president.pl, CNN, The Guardian