US President Joe Biden said he did not think Vladimir Putin could continue to fight his war in Ukraine for years, citing the economic and political toll on Russia.
(Bloomberg) — US President Joe Biden said he did not think Vladimir Putin could continue to fight his war in Ukraine for years, citing the economic and political toll on Russia.
“I don’t think that they Russia could maintain the war,” Biden said Thursday at a press conference in Helsinki, when asked by a reporter if the war, already nearing its 18-month point, could drag on for years.
“I think that there is going to be a circumstance where eventually, President Putin is going to decide it’s not in the interest of Russia — economically, politically or otherwise, to continue this war, but I can’t predict exactly how that happens,” Biden added. “Putin has already lost the war. Putin has a real problem.”
Biden visited Finland after attending the NATO summit in Lithuania earlier this week. The alliance’s handling of Ukraine caused significant drama at the alliance’s meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed disappointment ahead of the gathering upon learning his country would not be given a concrete timeline or conditions for joining NATO.
In a tweet before he arrived in Vilnius, Zelenskiy called the lack of specificity “unprecedented and absurd.” He also expressed concern the US and other allies could be holding NATO membership back as a possible concession in future peace talks with Russia.
But the Ukrainian leader softened his tone once on the ground at the summit, saying he was pleased with a package that signaled the intention to admit Ukraine in the future, paired with promises of new security guarantees from the US and other Group of Seven nations.
Biden and Zelenskiy held a bilateral meeting for nearly an hour, and the US president said earlier Thursday he believed Ukraine’s leader “ended up being happy.”
Biden has previously said Ukraine is not yet ready for membership, and should not be invited until the war with Russia is resolved and Ukraine adopts economic and democratic reforms as well as changes to make Kyiv’s military more interconnected with NATO forces.
–With assistance from Jenny Leonard.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.