With just 71 days to go before leaving office, President Joe Biden will continue to push for more military aid to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia while also pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza, according to one of his top advisers.
During the 2024 campaign, former President Donald Trump often pledged to cut aid to Ukraine and said he would move to quickly end the Russia–Ukraine war. Since February 2022, the Biden administration has provided tens of billions of dollars to the Kyiv government, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has made a number of impassioned pleas to both Biden and Congress to continue to provide funding and material support.
“It should be up to Ukraine to decide for its own sovereignty and own territorial integrity when and how it goes to the negotiating table,” Sullivan told CBS News on Nov. 10. “It should be up to the United States and a coalition of nations that we have built to continue to supply Ukraine with the means to defend itself against brutal Russian aggression.”
Trump and Biden are scheduled to meet on Nov. 13 to speak about the transition process, including regarding “what is happening in Europe and Asia and the Middle East,” Sullivan said.
In that meeting, he added, Biden will reiterate that he is committed to the “peaceful transfer of power” and a “responsible handoff” when meeting with the president-elect. Biden will finish his term on Jan. 20, 2025.
Sullivan said that in the intervening period, Biden will use the full amount of resources that Congress passed for Ukraine.
“Walking away means more instability in Europe, and ultimately, as the Japanese prime minister said, if we walk away from Ukraine in Europe, the question about America’s commitment to our allies in Asia will grow,” Sullivan said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy have both congratulated Trump on his win, while Putin has said that the Russian leader is ready to speak with the incoming administration about the Ukraine war.
“What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion this deserves attention at least,” Putin said.
But a Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters last week that the conditions for ending the war remain unchanged.
“The president has never said that the goals of the special military operation are changing. On the contrary, he has repeatedly said that they remain the same,” Peskov said, referring to Putin. “All this concerns the security interests of our country, the security interests of the Russian people living there. Therefore, there was no talk of any changes here.”
Zelenskyy said he does not know how Trump plans to end the conflict quickly.
Israel in Focus
Regarding the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group and broader Middle Eastern conflicts, Sullivan said that there may be a U.S. foreign policy change when Trump takes over. At this point, Hamas is preventing a cease-fire accord with Israel, the adviser said.“What we need to do is get the rest of the world to continue to increase pressure on Hamas to come to the table to do a deal in Gaza, because the Israeli government said it’s prepared to take a temporary step in that direction,” Sullivan told CBS News.
In the future, Israel will have to negotiate a deal that allows for Israeli hostages to return home, he said, adding, “It’s doing that deal to try to secure Israel, and I expect in the coming weeks we’ll see progress.”
The United States also has been engaged in discussions with Israel on how to resolve its conflict in Lebanon with the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Days after Trump’s victory, Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and replaced by Israel Katz.
