German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office KEVIN LAMARQUE (REUTERS)
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz flaunted unity around Ukraine this Friday at their hour-long meeting in the Oval Office.
"The United States and Germany are in unison when it comes to Ukraine, and that strengthens NATO," said the White House tenant.
His visitor, for her part, described the Russian invasion as "a very dangerous threat" and insisted that the allies will maintain their support for kyiv "for as long as necessary."
The leaders of the two powers were meeting amid commemorations of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Both, until recently the most reluctant to supply offensive weapons to Ukraine, have reframed their stances to give their blessings to the shipment of tanks - American Abrams and German Leopards - and insist that the Atlantic Alliance is completely united in its determination to support Ukraine. Kiev.
The White House repeatedly expresses "unwavering support for Ukraine with whatever it takes for as long as it takes."
This same Friday, the Biden Administration announced a new batch of 400 million dollars (about 400 million euros) in more military aid, the number 33 that it sends to kyiv.
The new package includes ammunition for the HIMARS long-range missile system and Bradley tanks, among other equipment.
Precisely, analyzing what the government of Volodimir Zelenski may need in the coming months and how to obtain it for him was going to be one of the dominant issues at the meeting.
Both leaders insisted over and over again during their brief statements at the beginning of the meeting on the good harmony between their governments and the excellent cooperation between them.
“It is a very relevant association that is in very good shape today”, underlined Scholz.
Unity around aid Ukraine, he added, is especially necessary.
“It is really important that we act in coordination, together,” he insisted.
For his part, Biden expressed his gratitude to the German leader.
“You stepped forward to provide critical military support.
And beyond the military backing, the moral support he has given to the Ukrainians has been profound."
Scholz's visit to Washington is the chancellor's second in just over a year;
the German leader had come to the White House just weeks before the start of the war.
On this occasion, the fanfare surrounding this type of travel has been reduced to a minimum.
An hour of meeting in the Oval Office ―a part of it, alone between the two leaders―, without a press conference or a group of journalists accompanying the German leader.
Both leaders, as a senior US official had explained, "wanted it to be a working meeting, they wanted to get in depth, to focus on the issues of Ukraine."
"A sign of the good state in which the relationship is," according to the senior official.
Both also planned to address China's position: Washington denounces that the government of President Xi Jinping is considering supplying weapons to Russia, its great strategic partner, for the first time, and has warned of "serious consequences" if Beijing chooses to take that path.
Scholz, whose country enjoys excellent trade relations with the Asian giant, has also urged China not to help Moscow.
The public declarations of unity also try to galvanize the European partners to maintain their support for Ukraine when the conflict seems about to enter a new phase, in which Moscow and Kiev prepare new offensives.
Biden has carried out an intense campaign of contacts between the allies to ensure that there are no fissures in the positions.
Last week, to his surprise visit to kyiv, he added a meeting with the Eastern European countries that are members of NATO;
In seven days, he will receive Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, at the White House.
The prospect of a war that drags on can accentuate divisions that are already insinuating between the allies, where some are already urging peace talks.
In their own nations, the two leaders are registering increasing resistance among their respective publics to unconditional and voluminous aid to Ukraine for an indefinite period.
In the United States, a year ago half of adults perceived the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a great threat to the interests of the country.
By January 2023, that share had fallen to 35%.
Among Republican voters, the decline was even more pronounced: from 51% at the start of the war to 29% now.
Among this ideological group, four out of ten citizens consider attendance at kyiv “too much”;
at the beginning of the war only 9% thought so.
Parallel to the loss of enthusiasm among public opinion, some Republican legislators have already expressed their skepticism in the face of support that is dragging on and has no sign of ending.
The imminent entry into electoral campaign mode in this country, before the presidential elections of November 2024, heralds a possible hardening of those positions.
Even the unity that Biden and Scholz have flaunted has been put to the test.
This weekend, the White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, indicated in statements to the ABC television network that Biden gave the go-ahead in January for the shipment of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, despite recommendations against them. his military advisers, because Scholz demanded it as a condition to authorize the delivery of Leopards.
Berlin, on the other hand, maintains that Biden realized that the shipment was necessary and the decision to send tanks was consensual.
Initially, both governments had resisted authorizing the shipment, considering it could cause serious retaliation from Russia in Ukraine.
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