(Trends Wide) — President Joe Biden told Trends Wide in an exclusive interview that Ukraine is not yet ready for NATO membership, saying Russia’s war in Ukraine must end before the alliance can consider adding Kyiv to its ranks.
Biden told Trends Wide’s Fareed Zakaria that while the discussion of Ukraine’s impending NATO membership was premature, the United States and its NATO allies would continue to provide President Volodymyr Zelensky and his security forces with the weapons they need to try to end the war with Russia.
Biden spoke to Zakaria ahead of his weeklong trip to Europe, which includes a NATO summit in Lithuania, where Russia’s war in Ukraine and Zelensky’s push to join NATO will be some of the key issues ahead. at the meeting.
“I don’t think there is unanimity in NATO on whether or not to include Ukraine in the NATO family now, right now, in the middle of a war,” Biden said. “For example, if you did that, then, you know, and I mean it, we are determined to compromise every inch of territory that is NATO territory. It’s a commitment we’ve all made no matter what. If the war continues, then we are all at war. We are at war with Russia, if that were the case.”
Biden said he spoke at length with Zelensky on the issue, saying he told the Ukrainian president that the United States would continue to provide security and weaponry to Ukraine as it does to Israel while the process unfolds.
“I think we have to devise a rational path for Ukraine to qualify to join NATO,” Biden said, noting that he rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pre-war demands to commit not to admit Ukraine because the alliance It has “an open door policy.”
“But I think it’s premature to say, call for a vote, you know, because there are other requirements that have to be met, including democratization and some of those issues,” Biden said.
Biden holds up his notes as he talks to Zakaria. (Credit: Tom Brenner for Trends Wide)
The White House announced Friday that the United States was sending cluster munitions to Ukraine for the first time, a step taken to help bolster Ukraine’s munitions as it mounts a counteroffensive against Russia. Biden told Zakaria that it was a “difficult decision” to give Ukraine the controversial ammunition, but that he was convinced it was necessary because Ukraine was running low on ammunition.
The NATO meeting also comes as Sweden seeks to join the Western alliance, a move that has faced resistance from Turkey and Hungary. Biden told Zakaria that he was optimistic that Sweden would eventually be admitted to NATO, noting that the key hurdle, Turkey, is looking to modernize its F-16 fleet, along with Greece, which voted to admit Sweden.
“Türkiye is looking for the modernization of the F-16 aircraft. And (Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos) Mitsotakis in Greece is also looking for help,” Biden said. “So what I’m trying to put together, frankly, is a little consortium here, where we’re strengthening NATO in terms of the military capability of both Greece and Turkey, and we’re allowing Sweden in. But it is at stake. It’s not done”.
In the wide-ranging interview, Biden and Zakaria also discussed other key foreign policy challenges, including China, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Biden said he is confident Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to replace the US as the country with the world’s largest economy and military capability, but said he believes the US can have a working relationship with Beijing.
“I think there is a way to resolve, to establish a working relationship with China that benefits them and us,” Biden said. “And the last thing I’ll tell you, I also called him after he had that meeting with the Russians about this new relationship etc. And I said, ‘This is not a threat. It is an observation’. He said: ‘Since Russia entered Ukraine, 600 US corporations have withdrawn from Russia. And you told me that your economy [la de China] It depends on investment from Europe and the United States. And be careful. Be careful'”.
Biden said Xi did not argue with him, noting that China “has not tried its best with Russia.”
“I think we have to design a rational path so that Ukraine can qualify to be able to join NATO,” Biden said before his trip to Europe. (Credit: Tom Brenner for Trends Wide)
“He talks about nuclear war being a disaster, you need security,” Biden said of the Chinese leader. “So I think there is a way we can resolve this.”
Asked if he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, Biden said Israel’s President Isaac Herzog would visit the White House soon.
In March, Biden criticized Netanyahu over his now-scrapped plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, a rare public case in which the two allies publicly disagreed.
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Biden told Zakaria that he continued to believe that a two-state solution was the right way forward in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and criticized some members of Netanyahu’s cabinet for their views on Israeli settlements on the Riverbank. West of the Jordan.
“It is not now Israel on the West Bank of the Jordan that is Israel’s whole problem, but they are part of the problem, and particularly those individuals in the cabinet who say: ‘We can settle where we want. They have no right to be here, etc.’” Biden said. “And I think we were talking to them regularly, trying to get a handle on what was going on and hopefully Bibi will continue to move towards moderation and change.”
Biden also defended his trip to Saudi Arabia last year, telling Zakaria that the visit had several successes, such as setting up Israeli flyovers over Saudi Arabia. Asked if the United States would provide the Saudis with a civil nuclear capability and defense treaty, as requested by Riyadh, Biden said: “We are a long way from that.”
“Whether or not we provide a means by which they can have civilian nuclear power and/or be a guarantor of their security, I think that’s a bit far off,” Biden said.
