Biden Assures Ukraine’s President of Us Support in Deterring Russian Aggression

Charles kenny
Charles kenny
9 Min Read

Mr. Zelenskyy was offering “clear proposals to unblock the peace process and is ready to discuss them in various formats,” Ukraine said in a statement after the call with Mr. Biden.
President Joe Biden spoke with Ukraine’s leader on December 9 as part of a broader effort to persuade Russia not to invade its western neighbor.

Any negotiations to peacefully resolve Europe’s tangled East-West rivalries, on the other hand, will be minefields for President Trump.

On December 7, Mr. Biden offered American diplomacy during a two-hour online meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Biden proposed joining the Europeans in talks not only to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine but also to address Mr. Putin’s larger strategic objections to NATO’s membership expansion and military buildup closer to Russia’s borders.

President Biden spoke for over an hour on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 9th of December Mr. Biden expressed his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to Mr. Zelenskyy. According to the White House, he also reaffirmed that if Russia invaded, the US and its allies would impose economic sanctions on Russia and increase defensive aid to Ukraine and NATO allies closest to Russia.

Mr. Putin was urged to de-escalate the crisis, and both men urged diplomacy. President Biden stated that the United States was willing to assist with “confidence-building measures” in order to implement a 2015 peace agreement.

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Mr. Zelenskyy was offering “clear proposals to unblock the peace process and is ready to discuss them in various formats,” Ukraine said in a statement after the call with Mr. Biden.

Officials from the Trump administration have hinted that the US will press Ukraine to formally cede some autonomy in the eastern Donbas region, which is now de facto controlled by Russia-backed separatists who rose up against Kyiv in 2014.

An ambiguous, European-brokered peace deal in 2015 laid out decentralization of Ukraine and a “special status” for Donbas, but it never took hold.

More autonomy could give residents of that region more formal control over some local issues. Officials from the administration made no mention of ceding any land.

Mr. Biden will also have to work out the details of Ukraine’s desire to join NATO. Mr. Putin’s demands that the US and NATO guarantee Ukraine’s exclusion from the Western military alliance are rejected.

According to a person familiar with the private talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity, senior State Department officials told Ukraine that NATO membership is unlikely to be approved in the next decade.

The challenge for Mr. Biden will be persuading Kyiv to accept some of the facts on the ground in eastern Ukraine without appearing to cave to Mr. Putin — a perception that could embolden the Russian leader and prompt a new round of Republican condemnation at a time when Mr. Biden’s popularity is already waning.

Ukraine may be questioned “Can you take some steps forward in these areas,” former US ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer said. He suggested that this could include allowing the Russia-aligned Donbas region to control its own health care, police, and schools.

“However, I don’t see Washington pressuring the Ukrainians to take actions that would jeopardize their sovereignty or the national government’s ability to make decisions.” “Mr. Pifer expressed his thoughts.

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Ukraine, a former Soviet republic with strong cultural and historical ties to Russia, has sought closer Western integration and NATO membership in recent years. The alliance has promised membership but has not specified a time frame. Ukraine was a long way from joining even before the current crisis.

However, since 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and then backed armed separatists in the industrial Donbas region, the US and other NATO members have been assisting Ukraine in strengthening its defenses.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin spoke on the phone as tensions rose over the threat of Russian forces re-entering Ukraine. Mr. Putin denies any such intent and claims that the threat to Russia is NATO’s strengthening of its hold in former Soviet satellites and republics.

According to US intelligence reports released last week, Russia has deployed 70,000 troops to Ukraine’s borders in preparation for an invasion early next year.

Mr. Biden briefed leaders of nine NATO members in Eastern Europe, including three former Soviet republics, after speaking with Mr. Zelenskyy. It’s the culmination of weeks of coordination with NATO allies on how to respond to Russia’s military buildup along Ukraine’s border.

President Biden spoke with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy before and after his call with Mr. Putin. In what is known as the Normandy format, France and Germany took the lead in brokering the 2015 peace deal between Ukraine and Russia-backed rebels.

Mr. Biden said on December 8 that “we hope by Friday we’ll be able to say, announce to you, we’re having meetings at a higher level.” “Not only with us, but at least four of our major NATO allies, as well as Russia.”

The talks will focus on “the future of Russia’s concern in relation to NATO as a whole, and whether or not we can work out any accommodations as it relates to bringing down the temperature” in Ukraine’s east, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry “Mr. Biden stated the following.

French President Emmanuel Macron defended French-German diplomatic efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine over the past several years at a news conference in Paris on Thursday but said he welcomed Mr. Biden’s outreach to his European allies on the issue.

“Our goal – for all of us Europeans and American allies – is to be at Ukraine’s side to ensure its security… and to begin a demanding dialogue with Russia,” he said “Macron stated his position.

When asked if any compromises with Ukraine were required, Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that “Ukrainians have come forward with constructive ideas for how to move diplomacy forward.” That is something we encourage.”

Ukraine agreed to change its constitution to accommodate the “peculiarities” of the two Donbas separatist republics and legalize their “special status” as part of the 2015 agreement. The deal’s ambiguity, according to some analysts, and some conflicting requirements render its provisions effectively unworkable.

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According to a person familiar with the private talks between Ukraine and the US, Ukraine is willing to engage in discussions on defining “special status,” including possible changes to account for the cultural and linguistic differences of its eastern Donbas region, which has a higher proportion of native Russian speakers.

However, any change that gives the region a virtual veto over national policy would be rejected by Ukraine, according to the source.

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Charles is an avid reader who loves the outdoors. He's also a passionate traveler and has explored many different parts of the world. He writes about topics ranging from entertainment, Celebrity, Technology, Gadgets, and entrepreneurship to relationships in modern society. Arthur believes that his life experiences make her more compassionate towards others, which also translates into her writing!