Biden news: President calls Ukraine ‘Tiananmen Square, squared’ as he’s blocked from visit to border

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Biden eats pizza with US soldiers in Poland

President Joe Biden is visiting Poland, which is bearing the brunt of an exodus of Ukrainians fleeing the attack on their country.

Mr Biden’s first stop was the town of Rzeszów, less than 100km (62 miles) from the south-eastern border with Ukraine. He and President Andrzej Duda were briefed on the humanitarian relief response taking place and Mr Biden met with US service personnel stationed there.

In remarks, the president reiterated his belief that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and described brave resistance of the citizens of Ukraine as “Tiananmen Square, squared”. The president also said he was disappointed that he was unable to cross the border to see the situation for himself, implying that the security concerns were too great — there had been much speculation about such a visit.

Both presidents will meet formally in Warsaw on Saturday.

The visit comes after a marathon series of meetings on Thursday with Nato, G7 and EU leaders in Brussels. Mr Biden said the extraordinary summit was a testimony to the unity of the US and its allies in the face of Russian aggression in Europe.

A number of new sanctions were imposed on Russia as leaders met, and the president said he also wants Russia removed from the G2. He stressed that it is the organisation’s decision whether to do so, adding that an alternative would be for Ukraine to attend as an observer.

Key points

• Biden told he cannot go to Ukraine border
• Biden: Ukraine should be able to attend G20 meetings if US efforts to expel Russia are unsuccessful
• Americans want Biden to be tougher on Russia as approval rating remains stagnant according to new poll
• US officially accuses Russian forces of war crimes in Ukraine
• Joe Biden warns Russia may use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine

[25 March 2022 07:16 · Shweta Sharma]

AOC warns complete ‘collapse’ of support among young

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that president Joe Biden is risking the complete “collapse” of his support among young voters and progressives and this could be a concern as mid-term elections are approaching.

Speaking to NY1, she said all is not lost as Mr Biden can bounce back if he delivers some of his promises, including cancelling student debt.

“We need to acknowledge that this isn’t just about middle of the road, increasingly narrow band of independent voters,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez said.

“But, this is really about the collapse of support among young people, among Democratic base, feeling like they worked overtime to get this president elected and they aren’t necessarily being seen,” she said.

“It is Biden’s power and ability to cancel student debt, and nobody else’s.”

[25 March 2022 07:45 · Oliver O'Connell]

White House clarifies Biden ‘when you’re there’ remark to troops

When speaking to US troops after their pizza lunch, the president said: “You’re going to see when you’re there, you’re going to see women, young people standing in the middle, in the front of a damn tank saying I’m not leaving.”

This remark prompted some speculation as to whether Mr Biden had misspoken about sending troops into Ukraine.

A White House spokesperson told The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg: “The president has been clear, we are not sending US troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position.”

[25 March 2022 08:00 · Shweta Sharma]

US imposes fresh sanctions on North Korea

The US State Department has announced fresh sanctions on entities and people in North Korea after Pyongyang conducted the first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in five years.

The people and organisations accused of “transferring sensitive items to North Korea’s missile program” have been sanctioned, according to a State Department statement.

“These measures are part of our ongoing efforts to impede the DPRK’s ability to advance its missile program and they highlight the negative role Russia plays on the world stage as a proliferator to programs of concern,” the statement said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken held talks with South Korean foreign minister Chung Eui-yong on Thursday evening to reaffirm the US’s support to Seoul.

[25 March 2022 08:45 · Shweta Sharma]

Biden snaps at reporter over Russia sanctions question

Joe Biden snapped at a CBS News reporter who questioned why new sanctions would have an impact on Russia changing course in Ukraine when previous sanctions failed to deter an invasion.

“That’s not what I said. You’re playing a game with me,” Mr Biden responded during a press conference in Brussels.

Journalist Christina Ruffini had asked how more sanctions would help in Ukraine when “deterrance didn’t work”.

The Independent’s Justin Vallejo reports

[25 March 2022 09:30 · Shweta Sharma]

Biden says he told Xi aiding Russia would put him in ‘significant jeopardy’

US President Joe Biden says he warned Chinese leader Xi Jinping that taking any steps to aid Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine would put him and his country in “significant jeopardy”.

Speaking from Nato headquarters in Brussels, Mr Biden was asked if he has seen any indication that China will or will not intervene in the conflict to aid Russia.

The president did not respond directly, but instead referred back to the two-hour conversation he had with Mr Xi last week.

Andrew Feinberg from Washington has more details

[25 March 2022 10:16 · Shweta Sharma]

Biden to visit Poland, a complex ally on Ukraine's doorstep

President Joe Biden’s visit to Poland as his final stop in Europe this week offers a chance to underscore U.S. commitment to protect a key NATO member on Ukraine’s doorstep, and thank Poles for their generous welcome to refugees fleeing Russia‘s invasion.

But Poland is also a complicated ally whose populist leaders are accused by some European partners of riding roughshod over democratic norms, and many liberal Poles will be seeking a sign that the U.S. remembers its role in promoting democracy.

Read the full report:

[25 March 2022 11:00 · Andrew Naughtie]

Biden agrees to step up European gas exports

The US and EU leaders have announced a deal where American liquid gas supplies will be stepped up to help the continent end any dependence on Russian energy.

The terms of the deal include that the US will deliver at least 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) more liquid natural gas to Europe than under previous plans, and the Biden administration has committed to increase gas supplies in 2023.

Germany and Italy are particularly dependent on Russian gas supplies, and the former is inevitably going to struggle with the consequences of scrapping the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, one of Russia’s key European influence projects and a source of worry for the US and Nato since the Obama administration.

Jon Stone has the story.

[25 March 2022 11:35 · Andrew Naughtie]

Watch: Biden insists European energy security is worth the short-term costs

At his press conference today with EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Joe Biden announced the US’s plans to help Europe wean itself off Russian energy supplies, as well as the two parties’ new deal to share data and resources in an attempt to mutually improve their security in the face of an enhanced Russian threat.

Watch his remarks below:

[25 March 2022 12:03 · Andrew Naughtie]

ICYMI: Biden says he’d be ‘fortunate’ to face Trump again

Speaking in Brussels yesterday, Joe Biden gave the European press some insight into his decision to run for president in 2020 after two failed attempts – and mused that in 2022, he’d be “very fortunate if I had the same man running against me.”

He also explained that his run against Donald Trump was partly motivated by the hatred on display at the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

“I saw those folks … carrying torches and carrying Nazi banners, literally singing the same vile rhyme that they used in Germany in the early 30s.

“When the gentleman you mentioned was asked what he thought,” the president recalled, “he said they were very good people on both sides.”

[25 March 2022 12:43 · Andrew Naughtie]

Biden visits Poland: why it matters

Joe Biden’s last scheduled stop on his European visit is in Poland, where he will visit a south-eastern town bearing the brunt of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Some 2 million people have been displaced from their homes by the Russian invasion, and many of them have turned to Poland as their refuge of first resort.

Mr Biden is set to thank the Polish government and people for taking in those in need, but the US alliance with Poland is complicated – not just because of a recent misalignment over a proposal to send fighter jets to Ukraine, but because the Polish government has for years been accused of riding roughshod over democratic norms of exactly the sort Mr Biden is trying to uphold in his own country.

Here’s an explainer on Mr Biden’s visit and why it matters.