Blinken points to wider pledges to support Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump

Associated Press

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, noting that more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the U.S. were to withdraw its support under a different president.

Blinken for the first time directly addressed the possibility that former President Donald Trump could win the November election and back away from commitments to Ukraine. The U.S., under President Joe Biden, has been the most important supporter of Ukraine’s more than two-year battle against invading Russian forces.

Trump’s public comments have varied between criticizing U.S. backing for Ukraine’s defense and supporting it, while his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, has been a leader of Republican efforts to block what have been billions in U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022.

Concerns among Ukraine and its supporters that the country could lose vital U.S. support have increased as Trump’s campaign surges and Biden’s falters.

Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone Friday.

“I noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral American support for protecting our nation’s freedom and independence,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, saying they agreed “to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.”

Trump said on his social media platform that he appreciated Zelenskyy’s outreach and promised to “end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families.”

Blinken said Friday that any new administration would have to take into account strong bipartisan backing in Congress for Ukraine in the interests of countering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to expand Moscow’s territory and influence.

“Every administration has an opportunity, of course, to set its own policy. We can’t lock in the future,” Blinken said, speaking to an audience of U.S. policymakers and others at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.

But he pointed to the security agreements that the United States and more than 20 other allies — including some NATO partners, Japan and the European Union — signed at a NATO summit in Washington this month.

“Were we to renege on that … I suppose that’s possible, but happily we’ve got another 20 some-odd countries that are doing the same thing,” Blinken said.

Ukraine itself was on a trajectory to ensure it “stands on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically,” Blinken said.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba also made similar appeals to the international community Friday during an online question and answer session on social media site Reddit. He particularly stressed Kyiv’s willingness to work with whichever party won the U.S. general election.

“I believe any U.S. administration should respect three features that make Ukraine different from other partners of America who had sought its support,” he said.

“We never asked U.S. troops to fight and die for Ukraine, we only requested weapons and support to our economy; we never intended to rely on foreign aid indefinitely and this is why we are reforming our economy and tripled domestic weapon production last year and plan to increase it sixfold this year; and we are fully transparent in using the U.S. assistance.”

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Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.