(Washington) After the shock of the invasion of Ukraine and the flurry of sanctions against Russia, US President Joe Biden wants to sustain the hitherto closely coordinated response of Westerners.
Posted at 2:23 p.m.
Updated at 3:36 p.m.
“This war is not going to end easily or quickly,” warned Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to the American president, on Tuesday.
After nearly a month of conflict, Russian forces on Tuesday controlled neither the capital Kyiv nor the major strategic port city of Mariupol, in the south, but continued intense bombardments on several cities.
“In recent months, the West has been united. The president is going to Europe to make sure we stay united” and to “send a strong message that we are prepared and committed for as long as it takes”, he told the press on the eve of the departure of Joe Biden for Europe.
It is a diplomatic marathon that awaits the American president, it is also a trip with a strong symbolic charge for the one who promises to lead, beyond Ukraine, the great fight of the democratic forces against authoritarianism.
On Thursday, in a single day, he will take part in three international summits in Brussels: NATO, the G7 and the European Union.
“New Penalties”
On this occasion, he “will join our allies in imposing new sanctions on Russia and strengthening existing sanctions”, in order to prevent Moscow from circumventing them, said Jake Sullivan.
Joe Biden will also “work with the allies on long-term adjustments” regarding NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe, continued the national security adviser.
The American president will also “announce joint action to strengthen Europe’s energy security” and unveil “additional American contributions” for humanitarian actions in Ukraine and for the reception of millions of Ukrainians who fled the war, reported his adviser.
He will then go, Friday and Saturday, to Poland, an allied country within NATO, and also the first destination for the majority of the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war.
On his program: a meeting with American soldiers, the details of which are not yet known, a commitment in connection with the reception of refugees and a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The hardest
After the shock, almost the amazement, which followed the start of the invasion on February 24, the White House knows that the hardest part, no doubt, is yet to come.
First for Ukraine: Joe Biden said again on Monday that it was “clear” to him that Russian President Vladimir Putin was considering using chemical and biological weapons.
The American president has already described a Russian leader with his “back against the wall”, a “war criminal” adopting ever more “brutal” and deadly tactics for civilians.
But a lasting war will also be a challenge for the beautiful unity so far displayed by Westerners.
After the first bursts of very harsh economic and financial sanctions, the options for coordinated reprisals are reduced, coming up against the strong disparities between countries, for example in terms of dependence on Russian gas.
The difficulty is the same on the military level. After major strategic reversals by certain countries, and announcements of massive arms deliveries by the Americans, how can we support the Ukrainian army even more?
Especially when Joe Biden has said and repeated that a direct military confrontation with Russia, for example through a no-fly zone, was excluded.
Another objective of the American president will be to ensure, as Jake Sullivan promised on Tuesday, that Westerners speak “with one voice” in the face of China.
Washington has already warned that Beijing would be exposed to reprisals in the event of deliveries of military equipment to Russia. So far, however, the United States has seen nothing like it, the national security adviser said on Tuesday.