Biden Not Considering Returning Nuclear Weapons To Ukraine, NSA Sullivan Says
2 years ago 3 min read
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The U.S. National Security Adviser (NSA), Jake Sullivan, has debunked a report that President Joe Biden may return nuclear weapons to Ukraine in the last 50 days of his administration.
Sullivan, speaking on Sunday in an interview with ABC News, said Biden who leaves office in January is committed to putting Ukraine in “the best possible position’ as their war with Russia rages on.
“That is not under consideration. No. What we are doing is surging various conventional capacities to Ukraine so that they can effectively defend themselves and take the fight to the Russians, not nuclear capability,” he said.
According to Sullivan, the priority for the Biden administration is to support Ukraine as much as possible to give them a better advantage when ceasefire talks between both countries begin.
He also said the U.S. president also hopes to push forward ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas just as it has done in Lebanon, with Hezbollah.
“We are going to do everything in our power for these 50 days to get Ukraine all the tools we possibly can to strengthen their position on the battlefield so that they’ll be stronger at the negotiating table.
“President Biden directed me to oversee a massive surge in the military equipment that we are delivering to Ukraine so that we have spent every dollar that Congress has appropriated to us by the time that President Biden leaves office.
“The first step is getting the ceasefire and hostage deal. If we can get that into effect, then the possibilities for a broader diplomatic initiative in the region along the lines that you just described really open up, and we will use every day we have in office to try to generate as much progress towards that end as possible,” he said.
On the transition of power, Sullivan reiterated the Biden-led administration’s commitment to transfer power to the incoming administration.
“We got a lot of work to do, and frankly, we’re going to try to do that also in a way where we have a smooth transition with the incoming Trump team.
“And I have to say that I’ve been gratified so far by the coordination I’ve been able to have with the incoming Trump team. They seem focused also on a smooth transition because they want to be able to hit the ground running.
“I’ve encouraged the Ukrainian team to engage the incoming team as well as to engage all of our allies and partners, because, again, on Jan. 21, the war in Ukraine doesn’t just go away.
“The new team will have its policy, its approach, and I can’t speak to that, but what I can do is make sure that we put Ukraine in the best possible position when we hand off the baton,” Sullivan said.
