President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Tuesday morning after Russia annexed four Ukrainian territories, and as Ukraine is accelerating its bid for NATO membership.
A Ukrainian official told Fox News that Biden and Zelenskyy had a “very good conversation.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the topic of the call.
The call comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order that would officially, in Russia’s view, annex four Ukrainian regions under the rule of the Russian Federation.
Russian news outlets reported Tuesday that Russian lawmakers unanimously approved that order that would federally absorb the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics into the Russian Federation.
Photo of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) and President Biden.
(AP/Office of the President of Ukraine)
The call also comes as Zelenskyy has “accelerated” Ukraine’s application for NATO membership after Russia annexed four Ukrainian territories.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, attends the Victory Day military parade marking the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow, Monday, May 9, 2022.
(Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“De facto, we have already proven compatibility with alliance standards. They are real for Ukraine – real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction,” Zelenskyy said over the weekend. “We trust each other, we help each other, and we protect each other. This is the alliance.”
The presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, North Macedonia and Slovakia issued a joint statement in support of Ukraine’s path to membership in the alliance on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands at the podium during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 3, 2022.
(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declined to comment on Ukraine’s pathway to membership, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that any decision “has to be taken by consensus” but that the alliance’s “top priority” is to support Ukraine.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that the United States supports NATO’s open-door policy for countries that want to join.
“Right now, our view is that the best way for us to support Ukraine is through practical, on-the-ground support in Ukraine, and that the process in Brussels should be taken up at a different time,” Sullivan said during a press conference.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and Paul Best contributed to this report.
