US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said NATO was stronger than ever during a visit to Poland ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“A year later, I would argue that NATO is stronger than it’s ever been,” Biden told his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, a day after making a surprise trip to Kyiv.
“I can proudly say that our support for Ukraine is unwavering,” he said during the bilateral talks shown in part on Polish state television. Biden called Poland’s support for neighboring Ukraine and its citizens “truly extraordinary”.
Biden is due to deliver a speech in Warsaw later Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will meet with the leaders of nine countries on NATO’s eastern flank.
Biden’s comments come a day after his surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia launching a war on the country.
The bilateral meeting takes place just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Moscow’s participation in the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between Russia and the United States.
Biden on Tuesday emphasized the United States’ continued support for Ukraine and thanked Poland for welcoming millions of Ukrainians into the country. “As I told President Zelenskyy when we spoke in Kyiv yesterday, I can proudly say that our support for Ukraine remains unwavering,” Biden said.
Biden also said he and Duda “reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to NATO’s collective security, including guaranteeing that the command headquarters for our forces in Europe are going to be in Poland, period.”
