Biden's meeting with Eastern European leaders will cap off his trip

WARSAW — If Russian President Vladimir V. Putin commanded tanks in other European countries, the nine nations along NATO's eastern flank would be the most likely targets .

So on Wednesday, President Biden will meet with the leaders of those countries, offering assurances that the United States stands ready to stand up for the most vulnerable members of the world. alliance against the type of aggression that is currently taking place in Ukraine.

The meeting, which is due to take place just hours before Mr. Biden ends his three-day visit to Ukraine and Poland, aims to underline his determination administration to confront Mr. Putin and prevent him from bullying some of the world's most fragile democracies.

“It is largely about the group of eastern flank of NATO who are basically and, quite frankly, literally on the front lines of our collective defense right now," John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters ahead of the trip. of the president.

Mr. Kirby said the president would meet with the leaders of the nine countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia - to "reaffirm the states' unwavering support -United to the security of this alliance and trans -Atlantic unity."

In his speech from the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Tuesday, Mr Biden spoke is shown resolute on the American commitment to the defense of the whole of NATO, declaring that the guarantee to come to the aid of any threatened ally “is solid as a rock. And every member of NATO knows it. And Russia knows it too."

But the threat of direct military intervention is less theoretical for Poland, Hungary and other countries whose borders lie not far from Russian territory than for Great Britain, France or Spain.

For these countries, the invasion of Ukraine by Mr. Putin it nearly a year ago is not only a threat to the principle of democracy, but also a roadmap for an invasion that could just as quickly plunge their own cities into the darkness of war.

Aware of this particular threat, the leaders of the nine countries met in 2015 to discuss measures they could take to reduce the risk. the most publicized and urgent since the formation of the group eight years ago.

For Mr. Biden, it will be a new opportunity to salute the unity of NATO in the face of Mr. Putin's actions. During his briefing last week, Mr Kirby said the group would focus on maintaining unity of purpose even as the war in Ukraine drags on.

White House officials said the United States and its allies would soon announce tougher sanctions against Russia aimed at increasing the cost of Mr. Putin's war.

"Leaders will discuss our efforts over the past year to strengthen NATO, which is stronger and now more united than it was - than it ever was summer, and how each of our nations will continue to work together,” he said.

After the meeting, Mr. Biden is expected to leave Poland and return to Washington, concluding a trip abroad that began with his top-secret visit to the Ukrainian capital.