The NATO “Alliance remains a bulwark of global security and stability as it’s been for more than seven decades. NATO is stronger, more energized, and, yes, more united than ever in its history,” declared President Joe Biden at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart. “But he thought wrong,” declared President Biden:
“Faced with a threat to the peace and stability of the world, to democratic values we hold dear, to freedom itself, we did what we always do: The United States stepped up. NATO stepped up. . . .All across the world they stepped up.
After nearly a year and a half of Russia’s forces committing terrible atrocities, including crimes against humanity, the people of Ukraine remain unbroken, declared President Biden:
“Since this war began, I’ve stood with President Zelenskyy . . .to declare to the world what I say again: We will not waver. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes.
“We all want this war to end on just terms,” noted President Biden, — terms that uphold the basic principles of the United Nations Charter including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity:
“Unfortunately, Russia has shown thus far no interest in a diplomatic outcome. Putin still wrongly believes that he can outlast Ukraine. He can’t believe it’s their land, their country, and their future. And even after all this time, Putin still doubts our staying power. He’s still making a bad bet that the conviction and the unity among the United States and our Allies and partners will break down.
The right of a people to determine their own future is precious to people everywhere not just in Ukraine, but in Belarus, Moldova, Georgia — in all the places around the world where people continue to fight to make their voices heard, said President Biden.
“We must never forget how much [self-determination] matters and never, never give up on a better tomorrow,” declared President Biden. “The defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime, of all time.”
