Blinken, in Brussels, pledges to shore up Ukraine support ahead of Trump transition

By Simon Lewis (JO:) and Sabine Siebold

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured NATO on Wednesday that the Biden administration would bolster its support for Ukraine in the few months before Donald Trump’s return as president and would try to strengthen the alliance in that time.

Meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels, Blinken also said the deployment of North Korean troops to help Russia in the Ukraine war “demands and will get a firm response”.

President-elect Trump, who has questioned U.S. military support for Ukraine, says he will quickly end Russia’s war without saying how, raising concerns among U.S. allies he could try to force Kyiv to accept peace on Moscow’s terms. Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.

Blinken said after meeting Rutte at the alliance’s headquarters that they had discussed ongoing support for Ukraine, where Russian forces have been making gains on the eastern front lines, and the work NATO must do strengthen its defence industrial base.

The outgoing U.S. administration would “continue to shore up everything we’re doing for Ukraine” to ensure it can fight effectively next year or negotiate peace with Russia from a position of strength, he said.

Biden will “use every day to continue to do what we have done these last four years, which is strengthen this alliance,” Blinken said, adding that Biden officials were working to deliver all the aid approved by the U.S. Congress for Ukraine before leaving office.

Speaking about the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia, Blinken told reporters Moscow’s relationship with Pyongyang was a “two-way street,” and there was “deep concern about what Russia is or may be doing to strengthen North Korea’s capacity” including its nuclear capacity.

Rutte said that “Russia has not won” in Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022.

“Obviously we have to do more to make sure that Ukraine can stay in the fight and is able to roll back as much as possible the Russian onslaught and prevent (President Vladimir) Putin from being successful in Ukraine,” he said.

Blinken is expected to meet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha later, according to a State Department schedule.

He was also meeting NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christopher Cavoli, top EU officials and British foreign secretary David Lammy in Brussels on Wednesday.