JABAR EKSPRES – U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday that there are no special privileges for Ukraine and that the country should be held to the same standards as other countries regarding its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Biden made the statement in response to a reporter’s question before boarding a plane bound for Pennsylvania.
When asked if the US would facilitate Ukraine’s membership in NATO, Biden replied “No. No. Because they have to meet the same standards. So I’m not going to make it easier.”
Biden also said that Ukraine has demonstrated its ability to coordinate militarily, while questioning the integrity of its military.
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“I think they’ve done everything in terms of demonstrating the ability to coordinate militarily, but there are issues about whether their system is secure? Is it not corruptible? Does it meet all the standards that everybody else does, all the other countries do in NATO? I think it does. I think it can. But not automatically,” he said.
Regarding Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Biden reiterated that it was “completely irresponsible.”
Asked about US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming visit to China to ease tensions between the two countries, Biden replied: “China has some legitimate concerns that have nothing to do with the United States.”
He implied that the diplomatic visit could contribute to a thaw in US-China tensions.
“I don’t think the Chinese leadership knows where (the balloon) is, what’s in it, and what’s going on,” he further said, referring to the balloon the US dropped in early February.
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The US claims the balloon was used by China for espionage.
