Biden to lobby Trump not to abandon Ukraine during upcoming meeting
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday that President Biden will lobby for President-elect Trump to not abandon aid to Ukraine, when the two meet on Wednesday.
President Biden will urge President-elect Trump to not abandon Ukraine when the two meet on Wednesday, among other domestic and foreign policies, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Trump defeated Vice President Harris in the presidential election, and he will take office on Jan. 20, 2025. After Trump won his way back into the Oval Office, Biden congratulated him and invited the 45th, and soon to be 47th, president of the United States to the White House to ensure a peaceful transition of power. The two are expected to meet this Wednesday.
On Sunday, Sullivan was a guest on CBS News’ "Face the Nation" where he said Biden’s top message would be ensuring his commitment to a peaceful transfer of power. Sullivan also said the president will talk to Trump about what is happening around the world in places like Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
"The president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking about taking on these issues when he takes office," Sullivan said. "President Biden made clear when [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy was here in Washington a couple of months ago that we would spend all of the resources that were provided to us by the Congress on time and in full, meaning that by Jan. 20th we will have sent the full amount of resources and aid to Ukraine that Congress has authorized."
He continued by saying that over the next 70 days, Biden will make the case to Congress and the incoming administration that the U.S. should not walk away from Ukraine, because walking away "means more instability in Europe."
"Ultimately, as the Japanese prime minister said, if we walk away from Ukraine in Europe, the question about America's commitment to our allies in Asia will grow," Sullivan said.
He would not say if Biden would propose specific legislation, but he explained that the president would make the case to continue sending resources to Ukraine beyond his term because Russia’s threat to Ukraine will remain.
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"The United States should not walk away from its commitment either to Ukraine or to the 50 nations that we have rallied in defense of Ukraine, in both Europe and Asia," Sullivan said.
The national security adviser’s comments came as Ukraine launched an attack on Moscow with at least 34 drones on Sunday. The attack was the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the beginning of the war.
Trump has insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if he were in the White House at the time. He also told Reuters that Ukraine may have to cede territory in order to reach a peace agreement, which Ukraine rejects and Biden has never suggested.
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Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. military and economic aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022, funding that Trump has repeatedly criticized and rallied against with other Republican lawmakers.
According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress appropriated over $174 billion to Ukraine under Biden. The pace of aid is almost sure to drop under Trump, with Republicans set to take control of the U.S. Senate with a 53-seat majority.
The war in Ukraine is entering what some officials say could be its final act after Moscow's forces advanced at the fastest pace since the early days of the war.
Any fresh attempt to end the war is likely to involve peace talks of some kind, which have not been held since the early months of the war.
Moscow's forces occupy around a fifth of Ukraine. Russia says the war cannot end until its claimed annexations are recognized. Kyiv demands all of its territory back, a position that has largely been supported by Western allies.
Reuters contributed to this report.
