President Biden will urge President-elect Trump not to abandon Ukraine when the two meet Wednesday, among other domestic and foreign policies, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.
On Tuesday, Trump defeated Vice President Harris in the presidential election and will take office on January 20, 2025. After Trump made it back to the Oval Office, Biden congratulated him and invited the 45th, and soon to be 47th, to the office. º, 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 main message would be to ensure his commitment to a peaceful transfer of power. Sullivan also said the president will talk to Trump about what's happening around the world in places like Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
“The president will have an opportunity to explain to President Trump how he sees things, what his position is and talk to President Trump about how he plans to address these issues when he takes office,” Sullivan said. “President Biden made it clear when [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy said here in Washington a couple of months ago that we would spend all the resources that Congress gave us on time and in full, which means that by January 20 we will have sent the full amount of resources and aid to Ukraine that Congress has authorized.”
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President Biden is shown after speaking about the 2024 election at the White House on November 7, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
He went on to say that over the next 70 days, Biden will argue before Congress and the incoming administration that the United States should not withdraw from Ukraine, because doing so “means more instability in Europe.”
“Ultimately, as the Japanese prime minister said, if we move away from Ukraine in Europe, the question will grow about America's commitment to our allies in Asia,” Sullivan said.
He did not say whether Biden would propose specific legislation, but explained that the president would advocate continuing to send resources to Ukraine beyond his term because Russia's threat to Ukraine will persist.
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President-elect Donald Trump (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“The United States must not abandon its commitment to either Ukraine or the 50 nations we have united in defense of Ukraine, both in 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 largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start 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 might have to give up territory in order to reach a peace deal, which Ukraine rejects and Biden has never suggested.
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Ukrainian military personnel ride a BREM-1 repair and recovery vehicle near Vuhledar, Ukraine, March 6, 2023. (REUTERS/Lisi Niesner)
Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars worth of US military and economic aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022, funding that Trump has repeatedly criticized and has spoken out against along with other Republican lawmakers.
According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress allocated more than $174 billion to Ukraine during the Biden administration. The pace of aid will almost certainly slow under Trump as Republicans take control of the US Senate with a 52-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 new attempt to end the war will likely involve peace talks of some kind, which have not been held since the first months of the war.
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Moscow's forces occupy about a fifth of Ukraine. Russia says the war cannot end until the annexations it claims are recognized. kyiv demands that all of its territory be returned, a position that has been largely supported by Western allies.
Reuters contributed to this report.
