‘You’re the frontlines of our collective defense,’ Biden tells Bucharest Nine group of eastern European countries on last day of trip
Joe Biden on Wednesday night condemned as a “big mistake” Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend his country’s participation in the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty.
The comment came as the US president closed out his wartime visit to Europe, working to shore up partnerships with allies on Nato’s perilous eastern flank – even as Putin was drawing closer to China for help as his invasion of Ukraine neared the year mark.
Biden’s meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations in Warsaw came at the conclusion of a whirlwind, four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland meant to reassure allies that US support in fending off Russia is not at risk of waning.
In dramatic counterpoint, Putin on Wednesday played host in Moscow to Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist party’s most senior foreign policy official, as US intelligence warned that Beijing is considering supplying arms and ammunition to the worn-down Russian military.
