Topline
President Joe Biden said Russia has “already lost” its war with Ukraine on Thursday, dismissing concerns that NATO’s commitment to eventually admit Ukraine after the war ends would prompt Russia to escalate its attacks and prolong the conflict.
US President Joe Biden addresses a joint press conference with Finland’s President after the … [+]
Key Facts
Biden asserted that “there is no possibility of [Putin] winning the war in Ukraine,” during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö from Helsinki when asked by a reporter if NATO’s plans to welcome Ukraine could motivate Putin to continue the war.
Biden said Putin could “end the war tomorrow,” adding “what agreement is ultimately reached depends upon Putin.”
The statements come after NATO partners vowed Wednesday at their two-day summit in Lithuania to admit Ukraine after its war with Russia ends, which Biden suggested could happen in “the next few months”—reiterating the alliance’s 2008 promise to eventually admit Ukraine.
NATO’s promise did not include a timeline or a concrete process for letting Ukraine into the bloc, instead saying NATO “will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met.”
Key Background
NATO’s commitment to admit Ukraine appeared to appease President Volodymyr Zelensky, who on Tuesday called the lack of a timeline for the country’s membership “unprecedented and absurd.” NATO allies have repeatedly said they cannot admit a country that is in an active war because the NATO treaty states that a war on one member country is an attack on the entire alliance. “No one can join NATO while a war is going on, where a NATO nation is being attacked, because that guarantees that we’re in a war, that we’re in a third World War,” Biden said Thursday. NATO also agreed at the summit to eliminate the requirement for a Membership Action Plan from Ukraine to join the alliance. Russia’s reaction to NATO membership could also be a concern: When NATO first promised to admit Ukraine and Georgia in 2008, some members feared Russia could take issue with admitting the two former Soviet states.
Tangent
In a separate declaration of support, the U.S. and its G7 partners vowed to provide long-term security and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, including helping build a military “capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future.” The declaration also promised measures to strengthen Ukraine’s economic stability, and immediate technical and financial support.
Further Reading
What Is NATO’s Article 5? Military Provision Likely Blocking Ukraine’s Membership With The Alliance (Forbes)
Zelensky Criticizes NATO For Weighing Conditions To Invite Ukraine Into Alliance: ‘Unprecedented And Absurd’ (Forbes)
Turkey’s Erdogan Agrees To Endorse Sweden’s NATO Bid, Stoltenberg Says (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/07/13/biden-putin-already-lost-war-with-ukraine/