NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was in the US on Tuesday for talks with US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Stoltenberg told Biden at an Oval Office meeting that the “collective support we bring to Ukraine is now making a difference on the battlefield” amid the counteroffensive in Kiev.
NATO has been arming and weaponizing Ukraine’s forces over the past few months to help them seize territories Russia has held since the start of the full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February last year.
Earlier in the day, the outgoing NATO chief told CNN: “The more land they gain, the more likely it is that President Putin will understand that he must sit down at the negotiating table and agree to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” “.”
Biden’s root canal treatment delayed the first meeting
Biden thanked Stoltenberg for his patience and for postponing the appointment because the president had to undergo a second root canal surgery Monday after noticing a dental condition over the weekend.
Biden said NATO became more united during the Ukraine war and “we will build on that momentum” when the alliance holds its annual summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12.
“I had a lot of fun yesterday afternoon,” Biden said. “I had a small toothache problem that I took care of and thank you for accommodating me,” the president told the NATO chief.
Biden then referred to his last meeting with Stoltenberg in Warsaw.
“And I think you said it, and I agree: NATO has never been more united,” he said. “We both worked like hell to achieve that. And so far so good.”
Biden, echoing previous comments from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said US commitment to NATO’s Article 5 Mutual Defense Pact is “rock solid”.
Meanwhile, Stoltenberg thanked Biden “above all for your leadership and for your strong personal commitment to the transatlantic bond, to the cohesion of Europe and North America.”
Blinken, meanwhile, thanked the outgoing NATO Secretary General “particularly” for his “strong and steady hand” at “one of the most critical times I can remember in the history of the alliance”.
The US Secretary of State said NATO is “stronger and more united than ever,” thanks in part to Stoltenberg.
Blinken: Vilnius summit will ‘reaffirm commitment to defend every inch of NATO territory’
Stoltenberg said his talks in the US are part of broader preparations for the upcoming NATO leaders’ summit in Vilnius in July.
Blinken told reporters he expected the alliance to “reaffirm its shared commitment to Article 5 and the defense of every inch of NATO territory” at the summit.
He also said he expects a “robust package of political and practical support” for Ukraine, as well as commitments on defense spending and defense capability upgrades.
“We also believe it’s time to welcome Sweden as the next member of the alliance,” Blinken said after Hungary and Turkey in particular had slowed that process in recent months.
In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda discussed Ukraine’s counter-offensive in Paris on Monday evening.
The leaders of France, Poland and Germany pledge to continue supporting Ukraine. DW’s Rosie Birchard
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Stoltenberg: Counteroffensive could help force peace talks
Ahead of Tuesday’s political meetings, Stoltenberg spoke to US news channel CNN about the escalation in fighting in Ukraine, as authorities in Kyiv say their long-awaited counter-offensive has begun in earnest.
He said it was “at the beginning” for the push and acknowledged the situation remained “difficult”.
“They have the right to… liberate their own country,” Stoltenberg said.
He also hinted, as Macron did in France on Monday, that a successful Ukrainian push could even force Russia to the negotiating table on something closer to Kiev’s terms.
Fierce fighting in Ukraine: Kiev reports profits, says Putin with high price
Ukraine has in recent days reported progress in a southward push along a roughly 100-kilometer (60-mile) front in the south and east of the country, retaking several villages along the line.
Portal news agency reported on Tuesday that its journalists were given access to one such liberated village, Neskuchne. The Ukrainian flag flew over a grocery store in the abandoned village, which was home to a few hundred people before the Russian invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not dispute Ukraine’s territorial gains on Tuesday, but claimed that Kyiv’s armed forces had incurred a heavy cost to achieve them.
In a televised meeting with war correspondents and military bloggers, Putin claimed Ukraine lost more than 160 tanks and around a quarter of foreign-supplied military vehicles, while Russia lost 54 tanks. DW could not verify his claims.
Putin also said he sees no need for another large-scale mobilization of reservists in the conflict. However, he acknowledged that Russian authorities could have been better prepared for the latest attacks across Russia’s border, for which Moscow ultimately blames Kiev, while the Ukrainian government claims it was not involved.
rm, msh/rs, jsi (AFP, AP, Portal)