US vice president meets Ukrainian and European leaders in Germany

Europe, News, US February 20, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich, Germany, where the U.S. and European leaders gathered to take part in the annual security conference.

The U.S. vice president stressed that “the United States stands with Ukraine” and stated that the U.S. takes “the importance of the integrity and the territorial integrity of Ukraine” very seriously.

The White House statement stated that the U.S. and Ukrainian officials “discussed recent developments and assessments of Russia’s massive military build-up around Ukraine.”

Harris said that the U.S. and its allies prefer that the ongoing tensions with Russia “would be resolved in a diplomatic way”, and that the U.S. remains open “to a diplomatic path to resolution.” However, she warned that “if Russia takes aggressive action against Ukraine, we are prepared to implement and to do that work in a unified way with our allies around the world.”

“Any threats to your country, we take seriously, and we have rallied our Allies and our partners to speak with one voice,” the U.S. vice president added.

According to the White House release, before the official discussions with the U.S. vice president, the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said “Today, we do need specific steps, specific support. We are getting support from you in supporting our defense capacity, our army. This is something we are prepared to discuss and continue this dialogue because this is something that we are very interested in.”

Zelenskyy also said that “our strong army is protecting Europe and we all want to be one unified body, one world which looks into the peaceful future.”

On sanctions policy, the Ukrainian president thanked the United States for understanding that sanctions may bring about a peaceful resolution of this matter.

On February 18, CNN quoted three U.S. officials and one senior Ukrainian official saying that the U.S. administration officials privately advised the Ukrainian president not to leave Ukraine and visit Munich on February 19 amid concerns over a possible Russian invasion.

During her official trip to Germany, Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris also met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the margins of the Munich Security Conference on February 18. According to the NATO release, the leaders “addressed the security situation in Europe and the importance of strong transatlantic relations”

*^{NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris. (Image Credit: NATO)}*

During their meeting, the NATO Secretary General thanked the U.S. vice president for her strong personal commitment to the alliance and stated: “The United States continues to demonstrate transatlantic solidarity in words and in deeds, by consulting with all Allies every step of the way, and with more troops, ships and planes in Europe. European Allies are also stepping up.”

On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the U.S. vice president also held meetings with Latvian President Egils Levits, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mitsotakis of Greece, and leaders of other allies and partners to discuss efforts to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and collective defense.

According to the White House statement, “The leaders discussed their readiness for a swift Transatlantic response should Russia further invade Ukraine, including through adjustments to U.S. and NATO force posture, and implementation of financial sanctions and export controls.”

During the meetings, the U.S. vice president “emphasized that our commitment to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty is ironclad and that we stand united with our NATO Allies in opposing Russian aggression,” the statement added.