Biden and Stoltenberg met at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
“The leaders discussed the implications of Russia’s war on Ukraine for transatlantic security and the importance of continuing to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense,” the US administration said in a statement.
Biden and Stoltenberg “welcomed the support that Allies and partners are providing bilaterally to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression,” according to the White House.
NATO to step up support for Ukraine at Vilnius summit: Stoltenberg
Afterwards, the NATO chief told reporters: “The support that we are providing together to Ukraine is now making a difference on the battlefield as we speak, because the offensive is launched and Ukrainians are making progress and making advances.”
He added: “It's still early days. But what we do know is that the more land Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table. And also, the more likely it will be that President Putin at some stage will understand that he will never win this war, or aggression on the battlefield.”
Stoltenberg told reporters that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represented an attack “on our core values, and on free people everywhere.”
He stated: “President Putin must not win this war, because that will not only be a tragedy for Ukrainians, but also make the world more dangerous. It will send a message to authoritarian leaders all over the world, also in China, that when they use military force, they get what they want … So it's our security interest to support Ukraine. And that's exactly what we will do when we meet, all the NATO leaders, at the summit in Vilnius next month.”
The NATO chief declared: “We will agree to sustain and step up our support of Ukraine, further strengthen our deterrence and defence, including by new commitment to invest more in defence. And I expect Allies to agree that 2% of GDP for defence has to be a minimum of what Allies have to invest in our shared security.”
‘We’ll defend every inch of NATO territory; allies must spend at least 2% of GDP on defence’: Biden
The US president made a similar point ahead of the meeting, telling reporters: “We've strengthened NATO's Eastern flank, made it clear that we'll defend every inch of NATO territory ... And at our summit in Lithuania next month, we're going to be building on that momentum from working to ensure that Allies spend enough on defence, 2 percent not just as a height but that's the bottom line.”
Biden and Stoltenberg also discussed ways to ensure that Sweden becomes a fully-fledged member of NATO “as soon as possible,” as well as measures to strengthen NATO’s partnership with Indo-Pacific countries, which will be represented at the Vilnius summit on July 11 and 12, the PAP news agency reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 476 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, NATO, White House
