Sullivan answered reporters’ questions on a variety of subjects.
Concerns that Russia could use chemical weapons were a “key talking point” during Biden’s visit to Europe. Biden vowed to respond “in kind” if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
When asked what that means, given that chemical weapons are illegal under international law and Biden has repeatedly said the US would not send troops to fight Russia in Ukraine, Sullivan said it was an issue that was both militarily and politically important Allied leaders will be discussed and prepared diplomatically and among themselves.
“We’re working on contingency planning for a number of different scenarios,” he said. “It is difficult to make these types of hypotheses precise, since of course the form of use, the location of use, the context of use all have an impact on the specificity of the response. But by and large, I believe there is consensus on how the alliance would respond to these issues.”
He also told reporters that the US does not believe China granted Russia’s request for military assistance.
“We haven’t seen the Chinese moving forward with supplying military equipment to Russia, but we continue to watch it every day,” he said.
Asked if the president expects to discuss a Polish proposal to send international peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, Sullivan said he wasn’t sure the Polish president would raise it with Biden during their meeting, saying the US needs to more information before they would reply.
He also said there was “no update” on Ukraine’s request for more fighter jets after the US rejected a proposal by Poland to move Russian-made MiG fighter jets from a US base in Germany to Ukraine over concerns that this could escalate the conflict Russia.
When asked how Biden views his trip to Europe, Sullivan emphasized a point Biden emphasized in his remarks Thursday: This unit will require work over time.
“Part of the reason he decided we need to do this is because the first few weeks unity can be driven by momentum, inertia and adrenaline,” Sullivan said. “But this could go on for some time, and maintaining that unity as costs mount as tragedy unfolds is hard work. And the president wanted to get everyone together to say, “We have to do this work.” … It takes an American president who is really trying to push this forward.”