Biden and Zelensky discuss tensions on Ukrainian border over phone
January 28, 2022, 8:43 am

Biden and Zelensky discuss tensions on Ukrainian border over phone

Joe Biden-USA President-USA/Shutterstock

The Xinhua reported that U.S. President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, held a telephone conversation Thursday to discuss the ongoing tensions on the Ukrainian border.

According to a statement released by the White House, Biden reaffirmed U.S. support to Ukraine, including "additional macroeconomic support to help Ukraine's economy amidst pressure."

The U.S. embassy in Kiev remains open and fully operational that the U.S. president also noted that despite the departure of American family members of embassy personnel.

Biden, the statement said, also expressed Washington's support for resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine through the Normandy Format, a mechanism established in 2014 that involves French, German, Russian and Ukrainian diplomats.

Ukrainian military-Military parade/Pixabay

The president said he hoped that a recommitment by the quadrilateral dialogue members to the July 2020 ceasefire agreement will help decrease tensions and advance the Minsk agreements. The agreements call for an immediate ceasefire between government troops in Kiev and armed groups in the Donbass region while seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

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Zelensky said in a tweet that during the call the two leaders discussed "recent diplomatic efforts on de-escalation and agreed on joint actions for the future." He also confirmed that "possibilities for financial support to Ukraine were also discussed."

Also on Thursday, Deputy Chairman of Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States are using Ukraine to gain geopolitical leverage.

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The RIA Novosti news agency quoted Medvedev as saying during his interview with Russian media outlets: "Ukraine, unfortunately, has turned, to some extent, into a toy in the hands of NATO and the United States, as Ukraine is used as a geopolitical instrument to exert pressure on Russia."

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.