Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was paying a long-awaited trip to the White House.
ADVERTISEMENTPresident Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.`S would be a more reliable ally to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, in a long-sought Oval Office meeting, was reassured that his administration remained squarely behind the Eastern European nation.
Biden highlighted his concerns about Russian aggression in the region.
“The United States remains firmly committed to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression and for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” Biden said.
The Ukrainian leader, who had found himself ensnared in Donald Trump’s first impeachment, arrived at the White House looking to Biden for increased military aid and backing for his country’s bid for NATO membership.
The meeting was postponed for two days while Biden and his national security team were consumed by the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The withdrawal, which concluded Monday, left many Afghans who had worked with the Americans and their allies and who now fear Taliban rule behind.
It led to criticism that the U.S. was less than a reliable international partner, something Biden was eager to counter.
The optics of the moment did not go unnoticed by the Ukrainian president, who is looking to strengthen his country's relationship with the U.S.
“At a difficult time for the world and the United States ... still you found time for us and we're thankful for this indeed,” Zelenskyy said.
In advance of the sit-down, the Biden administration said it was committing up to $60 million in new military aid to Ukraine. The administration said in a notification to Congress that the aid package for Ukraine was necessary because of a “major increase in Russian military activity along its border” and because of mortar attacks, cease-fire violations and other provocations.
In their private talks, Zelenskyy was expected to bring up Washington’s decision not to block the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would carry Russian natural gas directly to Germany, bypassing Ukraine.
The pipeline is vehemently opposed by Ukraine and Poland as well as both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, with Zelenskyy describing it as a powerful geopolitical weapon for Russia.
Zelenskyy, a television actor new to politics, took office in May 2019 anxious to firm up his country’s relationship with the United States.
Instead, he almost immediately found himself under pressure from Trump envoys and soon Trump himself, who in the phone call that led to his first impeachment asked Zelenskyy to “do us a favor.”
In that now-famous July 2019 call, Trump asked Zelenskyy to investigate Biden and his son Hunter, who had served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.
Trump’s European Union envoy, Gordon Sondland, later told impeachment investigators that Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani explicitly sought a “quid pro quo” in which an Oval Office visit would be contingent on Zelenskyy announcing the politically charged investigation Trump wanted.
“Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’” Sondland asked. “With regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.”
ADVERTISEMENTBesides the coveted invitation to the White House, Sondland also said it was his understanding that Trump was holding up nearly $400 million in military aid until Ukraine announced the investigation.
Allegations that Trump withheld congressionally approved military aid while seeking Ukraine’s help for his reelection campaign formed the basis of the first impeachment case against him.
Trump was acquitted by the Senate and the Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy never happened.
NATO
With Biden, Zelenskyy now has a president with a long history of involvement in Ukraine, one who has supported its determination to break free from Russia, shore up its young democracy and be more fully welcomed into the Western club.
As vice president, Biden was the Obama administration’s point person on Ukraine and pushed for tougher action against corruption. He once boasted of his success in getting Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor, who had blocked some corruption investigations.
ADVERTISEMENTTrump later twisted this by insisting, wrongly, that Biden had done so to protect his son and the energy company on whose board he served.
Zelenskyy is the latest Ukrainian president to promise to tackle systemic corruption and then struggle once in office. On Wednesday, Biden will want assurances that Zelenskyy remains committed to following through on various reforms, a senior U.S. administration official said.
Zelenskyy also is looking for greater economic and military assistance as Ukraine faces a hostile Russia on its eastern border. He has said he wants a clear statement on whether Biden supports NATO membership for Ukraine. NATO members are wary given Ukraine’s simmering conflict with Russia.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki would not say Wednesday whether Biden would support Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.
She noted that it was not a decision the U.S. could make alone and said the U.S. remains supportive of Ukraine's efforts to reform its defense sector and take other steps necessary before it can be put on a path toward NATO membership.
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