Berlin (AFP) – President Joe Biden urged NATO allies to keep backing Ukraine in its war against Russia as he made his farewell visit to Germany on Friday, just weeks before U.S. elections. As Ukraine faces a third winter at war and battlefield losses in the east, Kyiv and its allies fear a potential return of Donald Trump to the White House would mean reduced U.S. military support. Biden stated that Western allies must “sustain our support…until Ukraine wins a just and sustainable peace.” He emphasized, “We’re headed into a very difficult winter. We cannot let up.”
In another worrying development for Ukraine, North Korea has decided to send a “large-scale” troop deployment to support Moscow’s war, according to Seoul’s spy agency. It reported that 1,500 special forces were already in eastern Russia undergoing training. During his one-day visit, Biden met Chancellor Olaf Scholz before they held four-way talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his “victory plan” to the European Union and NATO, but his allies have not agreed to his request for immediate NATO membership. Washington and London have also rejected Ukrainian requests for clearance to use donated long-range weapons against targets inside Russia, and Berlin has refused to send its own long-range Taurus missile system. Scholz said, “We are supporting Ukraine as powerfully as we can,” while ensuring that NATO does not become a party to the war to prevent a larger catastrophe.
The United States has been by far the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, with Germany being the next largest supplier. Paris and London were among foreign capitals to voice concern Friday over reports of North Korean troops readying to back the Russian war effort. Christophe Lemoine, spokesman for the French foreign ministry, expressed that “the increase in cross-cooperation and military support from North Korea to the Russian war effort in Ukraine is very worrying.” Speaking at the British embassy in Berlin, Starmer remarked, “If this is true then to me it looks more like an act of desperation than anything else.”
The other issue in focus was the Middle East conflict, where Biden and others voiced hope for new momentum toward a Gaza ceasefire after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Biden described Sinwar’s death, considered the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, as a “moment of justice.” He urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas.” Scholz added that after Sinwar’s death, “hopefully the concrete prospect will now open up for a ceasefire and an agreement to release the hostages in Gaza,” which were sentiments echoed by Starmer.
Biden’s earlier meeting with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier included a red-carpet welcome, where Steinmeier awarded him Germany’s highest honour for championing bilateral and transatlantic ties. The German head of state praised the 81-year-old president as “a beacon of democracy,” who has shown unwavering support for NATO and Ukraine “in our most dangerous moment since the Cold War.” Biden’s visit comes as the campaign heats up ahead of the November 5 election, with allies nervously eyeing a possible Trump victory over Kamala Harris. Trump, who previously berated NATO allies while in office, has opposed the level of U.S. military support for Ukraine and is expected to soften U.S. criticism of Israel in its conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
Steinmeier reflected on the U.S.-Germany relationship, stating that just a few years ago, “the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other.” He remarked, “When you were elected president, you restored Europe’s hope in the transatlantic alliance literally overnight,” before awarding Biden the Grand Cross special class of the Order of Merit. Biden was originally scheduled to visit Germany last week for a four-day state visit that would have included a significant defense meeting with Zelensky. However, he canceled that trip to coordinate the response to Hurricane Milton but prioritized his valedictory visit to Germany, albeit with a stripped-down agenda squeezed into a one-day trip.
© 2024 AFP
