(WASHINGTON) Joe Biden reiterated on Saturday that he does not want to send US troops to Ukraine, while praising US leadership in the world, indirectly responding to accusations of weakness launched by Republican challenger Donald Trump.
“There are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. I am determined to keep it that way, but we stand firmly with Ukraine and we will stand with it,” the US president said, addressing the graduating class of the prestigious West Point Military Academy north of New York.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he called a “brutal tyrant”, was convinced that NATO would break up after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but “instead, the greatest security alliance in world history is stronger than ever,” Mr. Biden said.
The United States has resumed military aid to Ukraine after a months-long hiatus due to domestic political problems amid Russia’s offensive in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine.
He also praised the U.S. role in the Middle East on Saturday, noting that it had engaged in “emergency diplomacy” in efforts to secure the release of hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist movement after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and attacks. on October 7, as well as on April 13 to thwart Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel.
“Through America’s armed forces, we are doing what only the United States can do as an indispensable nation, as the world’s sole superpower,” he said.
The US president, who is campaigning for re-election in November, urged young graduates to honor their oath “not to a political party, not to a president, but to the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” speaking of the “defenders of American democracy.”
“Freedom is not free. It requires constant vigilance,” said the Democrat campaigning on Donald Trump’s threat to American democracy.
