US President Joe Biden emerged from talks with European leaders on Friday urging Ukraine's allies to maintain their backing for the country during its war against Russia.
Biden met Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Ukraine's second-biggest military supplier after the United States, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for discussions that also addressed the conflict in the Middle East.
“As Ukraine faces a tough winter, we must – we must – sustain our resolve, our effort and our support,” Biden said.
"And I know the cost is heavy. Make no mistake, it pales in comparison to the cost of living in the world where aggression prevails, where large states attack and bully smaller ones simply because they can.”
Support
Scholz said Ukraine would benefit from 40 billion euro international loan package funded by interest on profits from frozen Russian assets.
“Our position is clear," he added. "We are supporting Ukraine as strongly as possible. At the same time, we are taking care that NATO does not become a party to the war so that this war doesn't culminate in an even bigger catastrophe.”
However, policies towards Ukraine could soon change. Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the US presidential elections on 5 November, has hinted that he might withdraw American support for the country.
Kamala Harris, anointed to succeed Biden for the Democrats, has reiterated her backing for Ukraine.
Adding a purely personal note to the talks, Biden said he did not want his only term as president to end without visiting Berlin, after having travelled to other key allies such as Japan, South Korea, France, India, Britain, Poland and Ukraine.
Chance
After conferring Germany’s Order of Merit on Biden, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "The friendship with the United States is and will always be existentially important for Germany but there have always been times of proximity and greater distance.
“Even recently, just a handful of years ago, the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other,” Steinmeier said, in an reference to tense relations during Trump's presidency between 2017 and 2021.
Steinmeier said Biden had restored Europe's hope in the trans-Atlantic alliance.
“In the months to come, I hope that Europeans remember: America is indispensable for us,” he added.
“And I hope that Americans remember: Your allies are indispensable for you. We are more than just ‘other countries’ in the world – we are partners, we are friends.”
Biden, 81, who in July withdrew from his bid for a second term, reiterated his call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neytanyahu to pursue peace after the killing of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – which he described as a moment of justice.
Before meeting Biden, Starmer and Scholz, Macron said he hoped that Sinwar's death would open a credible political perspective for both Israelis and Palestinians.
