President Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Ukraine was not ready for NATO membership and that it was “premature” to begin the process that would allow Ukraine to join the alliance in the midst of war.
In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Mr Biden said he didn’t think there was “unanimity in NATO on whether or not Ukraine should join the NATO family now” and that the process would only take place after a peace agreement with NATO Russia was there.
“If the war goes on, then we are all at war,” Mr. Biden said, referring to the alliance’s commitment to mutual defense. “We are at war with Russia if that were the case.” He added that “other conditions would have to be met, including democratization,” for Ukraine to be considered for membership.
The president began a trip to Europe on Sunday that will include attending a NATO summit in Lithuania where Russia’s war in Ukraine — and a decision by the United States last week to supply arms to Kiev — has been discussed by most his allies are banned – will be a focus.
Mr. Biden said in the interview that he warned Chinese President Xi Jinping not to get too close to Russia. He added that after the Chinese leader’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir V Putin in March, Mr Biden spoke to Mr Xi and reminded him that numerous American companies had withdrawn from Russia since the war began.
“He wasn’t arguing,” Mr. Biden said. “And if you notice, he hasn’t spoken out in full force towards Russia.”
Mr. Biden also defended his decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, which are banned by many of America’s closest allies. He said it was a difficult decision, but with artillery stocks running low it was a choice between delivering the weapons or leaving Ukraine defenseless.
“It was a very difficult decision for me — and by the way, I’ve discussed this with our allies, I’ve discussed it with our friends up on the hill,” Mr. Biden said. “The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.”
Another topic of discussion at the NATO summit will be Sweden’s interest in joining the alliance. Mr Biden, who met with the Swedish prime minister last week, said he was “optimistic” that Sweden is moving closer to joining the group despite opposition from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (But Mr. Erdogan supports Ukraine’s admission: he said on Saturday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his side, that “Ukraine undoubtedly deserves NATO membership.”
Mr. Biden, who is 80 and running for re-election, also raised concerns about his age.
“I think we’re designing the world in a way that will clearly make things, how shall I put it, safer for people,” Mr. Biden said. “I just want to finish the job. And I think we can do that in the next six years.”
Safak Timur contributed reporting from Istanbul.