During the White House press conference, Psaki stated that the president will attend an extraordinary NATO summit in Brussels on March 24, with leaders of the 30 NATO member countries. “To discuss ongoing deterrence efforts and defense efforts in reaction to Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine and to reaffirm the ironclad commitment to our NATO allies.
Psaki said that Mr. Biden will be joining a summit of the European Council on March 24-25 “to discuss our common concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic attempts to impose economic sanctions on Russia, provide humanitarian aid to those affected by violence, and address other challenges associated with the conflict.”
She stated that her goal was to meet face-to-face, face-to-face, with his European counterparts, and discuss and assess where they are at this stage in the conflict, which led to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We have been extremely aligned so far. This doesn’t happen randomly. Face-to-face diplomacy is something the president believes in, so this is an opportunity to do just that.”
Ursula von der Leyen (president of the European Commission) responded to the White House’s confirmation that Mr. Biden was going to Europe. She stated in a Tweet that “transatlantic cooperation and coordination remain critical for increasing pressure on the Kremlin’s to end the unjustified war.”
This will be Mr. Biden’s first trip to Europe since Russia attacked Ukraine over two weeks ago. It follows Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit in Poland and Romania last Wednesday.
The Biden administration, in collaboration with European allies, has imposed severe economic sanctions against key Russian financial institutions, officials, and oligarchs in order to isolate Moscow from the global economy. To help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, the U.S. and West have also donated more than $1B in humanitarian and military aid.
Congress passed last week a funding bill which also provided $13.6 million in aid for Ukraine. Mr. Biden signed it into law Tuesday afternoon. According to the president, the U.S. is working urgently to provide additional support for the brave Ukrainian people as they defend their homeland. He stated that the U.S. will be better able to provide humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian people thanks to the legislation passed by Congress.
He said, “With billions more in this bill for humanitarian assistance, it’ll be possible to rapidly ramp up our response and help alleviate suffering that Putin’s war in Ukraine is causing to the people of the region,” he continued.
