- Biden and the Ukrainian president will meet at the G7 in Puglia
- The agreement would not have the force of a treaty but would be a sign of commitment.
President Joe Biden is close to signing an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky aimed at committing the United States to a decade of military support, a move that could put pressure on his rival Donald Trump if he wins the White House.
The move is a key “product” of Biden’s G7 meetings set to begin in the Italian region of Apulia on Thursday. The president arrived last night and met in person with Zelensky before the two leaders held a joint press conference on Thursday evening local time.
“We want to demonstrate that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them and that we will continue to help address their security needs not only tomorrow but into the future,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the annual conference.
“This is a big problem,” he added Thursday. He called it “a true indicator of our commitment, not just for this month, this year, but for many years to come, to continue to support Ukraine, both in defending against Russian aggression and in deterring future aggression.”
The bilateral agreement would not have the force of a treaty ratified by the US Senate, so Biden or any successor could withdraw from it.
President Joe Biden begins meetings with G7 leaders in Italy on Thursday after arriving Wednesday evening.
But it would still represent a barrier should Biden’s Republican successor retake the White House. It is one of several efforts being considered in Congress to try to “protect Trump” from elements of the established order.
It comes after Biden was able to push through a $60 billion measure to help Ukraine after overcoming prolonged opposition from Republican lawmakers in Congress. Trump heads to the Capitol on Thursday to meet with Republicans who currently control the House and are in position to potentially take control of the Senate in the November elections.
Trump’s tenure in the White House was marked by an angry impeachment clash triggered in part by a split within his administration over withholding military aid to Ukraine amid accusations of corruption in the country by Trump’s allies. Trump.
Moscow launched its latest invasion of Ukraine in 2022, dramatically escalating its 2014 invasion of the Donbas region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Biden on Thursday
Biden’s visit will include a meeting with Pope Francis on Friday
The president returned to Europe just a day after a jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found his son Hunter guilty on gun charges.
Biden’s rival Donald Trump meets with Republican lawmakers in Washington on Thursday
Another agreement that emerged from the G7 meetings is an agreement to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan amid its territorial losses to Russian forces.
The money comes from interest on $300 million in seized Russian assets and avoids opposition within the alliance to the use of those funds.
Details were still being worked out, and administration officials were reluctant to confirm earlier reports about the broad outlines of the deal. But the funds could reach kyiv by the end of the year.
Sullivan told reporters Thursday morning that progress was likely, but stopped short of offering assurances on Russian sovereign assets and other issues.
“I think we’re set up for success in that regard…we’ll have to see how the next couple of days play out,” he said.
Sullivan stopped short of promising immediate success. He said it would not happen today and that leaders were “on the brink of a good outcome”.
“I think we will have the main points of this decided,” he said, although some of the details have yet to be resolved.
The diplomatic work through an arcane financial architecture comes at a summit where Biden and his fellow G7 leaders will meet in an elegant medieval-style village in Borgo Egnazia (although the local police protecting them complained about dirty water and broken mattresses on the ‘Goddess of the Night’ tour). ship that has been hosting them.
All of Hunter Biden’s children will accompany the president on the trip, which comes as the family is still processing Hunter’s guilty verdict and Biden has yet to speak publicly about it.