Biden Touts ‘Stronger’ Alliance In Meeting With NATO’s Easternmost Countries—As China Fortifies Partnership With Russia - Forbes

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Topline

President Joe Biden reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to NATO during a meeting with nine eastern and central European leaders in Warsaw Wednesday, hours after Russian and Chinese officials touted the the strength of their alliance following a meeting in Moscow that comes as U.S. intelligence officials fear China could supply weapons to Russia in its war with Ukraine.

Key Facts

Biden met with the leaders of the “Bucharest Nine”—Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia—on Wednesday, capping off a four-day trip to mark the upcoming one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday.

The U.S.’s commitment to NATO is “absolutely clear” and the alliance is “stronger” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden told the leaders of the Eastern European NATO allies, while commending their support for Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement a day earlier that Russia would suspend its involvement in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was a “big mistake,” Biden told reporters, referring to the 12-year-old agreement that limits the number of nuclear warheads Russia and the United States can deploy.

Meanwhile, Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Moscow on Wednesday, days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concerns” that China could provide “lethal support” to Russia.

Touting the strength of China’s alliance with Russia, Wang reportedly said Wednesday that China would “not succumb to pressure from third parties,” which appeared to be a veiled dig at the U.S.

Key Background

Biden met with the Bucharest Nine following a speech in Warsaw on Tuesday, where he vowed that Russia will “never” be victorious in its war with Ukraine. He also announced an additional $500 million in military and infrastructure aid to Ukraine and committed to imposing new sanctions on Russia he said would be announced as soon as this week. The speech followed a surprise visit Biden made to Kyiv a day earlier, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin, meanwhile, in his annual address on Tuesday, blamed the U.S. for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden firmly denied the accusation during his address in Warsaw, and said Putin “could end the war with a word.”

Contra

Chinese officials denied Blinken’s claims that China would supply Russia with weaponry as “finger-pointing on China-Russia relations,” China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Monday. The dispute is the latest strain on U.S.-China relations after China deployed a balloon over U.S. territory for more than a week beginning at the end of January that U.S. intelligence officials believe was intended to surveil sensitive military sites.

What To Watch For

Putin on Wednesday confirmed reports that Chinese President Xi Jingping will also visit Moscow in the coming months–which Beijing claimed is an effort to broker an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plan.

Tangent

The Bucharest Nine formed their alliance in 2015 following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine the prior year, a move widely seen as an act of aggression that set the stage for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.