On the evening of January 13, the US President Joe Biden delivered a farewell foreign policy speech, summarizing his work over four years as president, including a focus on Ukraine.
“When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he would capture Kyiv within days. In fact, since the war began, it was me who was standing in the center of Kyiv, not him,” he said.
The US President added that he became the only American commander-in-chief to visit a combat zone not controlled by the US troops.
According to Biden, when Putin launched his invasion, the US president had two main tasks: to rally the world to protect Ukraine and to avoid war between the two nuclear powers.
Biden believes his team has handled both and laid a foundation that will help the next presidential administration protect “the bright future of the Ukrainian people”. He stressed that there is still much work to be done, because Russia’s war against Ukraine is important to the entire world.
"We cannot back down. We have united 50 nations to stand with Ukraine, not only in Europe, but for the first time in Asia. Those countries in Asia know that what happens in Ukraine matters to them too," Biden stressed.
The US president noted that Washingtonʼs alliances are now "stronger than they have been in decades", particularly NATO, which is now "more capable than ever". He noted that 23 Alliance countries now spend 2% of their GDP on defense, up from 9 four years ago, before his presidency.
Biden stressed that during his presidency, the United States has increased its diplomatic power, gaining more allies than it has ever had. His administration has also increased its military power, technological power, economic power. And this at a time when Russia, according to Biden, has become weaker.
"Another thing about Russia: look at what happened in Syria, we see that no one tried to save Assadʼs power. Of course, the fact that Russia has become so much weaker over the past four years is largely Russiaʼs own doing, we canʼt take all the credit for it, but we have a part in it," the US president said.
- The inauguration of the US President-elect Donald Trump will take place on January 20.
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