VILNIUS, Lithuania — President Joe Biden promised Ukraine that its Western partners would not back away from its defense in a speech Wednesday following two days of high-stakes meetings with leaders at a NATO summit.
Speaking before a heaving crowd on a bright Wednesday evening, Biden vowed that “the defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime — of all time.”
“We are steeled for the struggle ahead,” the president added. Of Ukraine’s partners, he said, “Our unity will not falter, I promise you.”
The event here proved atest of Biden’s promise upon taking office to repair America’s international relationships, which include NATO, the 31-country mutual defense pact forged in the aftermath of World War II. Top of the agenda was Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has raged on NATO’s doorstep for close to 18 months.
The lines built steadily in the hours before Biden was set to take the stage at Vilnius University, snaking through narrow cobbled streets.
“We will not waver. I mean that,” Biden continued. “Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
The president said the world was at a crossroads, with freedom hinging on America’s global alliances.
“We face a choice, a choice between a world defined by coercion and exploitation, where might makes right, or a world where we recognize that our own success is bound to the success of others — when others do better, we do better as well,” Biden said.
Biden added, “The idea that the United States could prosper without a secure Europe is not reasonable.”
A White House official previewing Biden’s remarks on Wednesday promised a speech that would highlight “the strength of the NATO alliance and how it remains a force for global security and stability.”
“The president will talk about how the widespread support for Ukraine is reflective of the value of our alliances and partnerships, which he has revitalized since taking office,” Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council’s Europe director, said.
Biden would make the case for NATO’s “vital” role, a hard-won outcome “that didn’t happen by accident,” Sloat said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
