AA/ Brussels
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has announced that there are currently 100,000 American soldiers in Europe, to protect the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
This is what emerges from a press conference held Thursday by Biden at the end of the G7 and NATO Summit, in the Belgian capital, Brussels.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to sow division among NATO members but had achieved exactly the opposite of what he wanted to achieve, noting that the current crisis had made the more cohesive organization.
In this same context, Biden warned that the United States would retaliate if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine, stressing that the response would depend on the nature of the use of these weapons.
The US president added that NATO members were considering the creation of an organization that would closely monitor the application of sanctions imposed on Russia and report those who violate them.
On the other hand, Biden revealed his country’s plan to welcome around 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
On February 24, Russia had launched a military operation in Ukraine, followed by a wave of anger and multiple international reactions as well as the imposition of strict economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.
To end its operation, Russia asks Ukraine to abandon any plans to join military entities, including NATO and to adhere to a status of total neutrality, which kyiv considers an interference in its affairs internal.
The Russian intervention in Ukraine has caused more than 3.5 million Ukrainian refugees to flee the country to neighboring countries, according to the latest data released by the United Nations.
*Translated from Arabic by Malèk Jomni
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