ASPEN, Colorado — Ukraine is on track to “stand on its own two feet militarily,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, noting that more than 20 other countries promised to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the US were to withdraw its support under a different president.
Blinken directly addressed for the first time the possibility that former president donald trump could win the November election and walk away from commitments to Ukraine. The US, under President Joe Biden, has been the leading supporter of Ukraine’s more than two-year battle against invading Russian forces.
Trump’s public comments have ranged from criticism of US support for Ukraine’s defense to support for it, while his running mate, Senator J.D. Vanceis a leader of the Republican attempts to block billions of dollars in US military and financial support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022.
Concerns among Ukraine and its supporters that the country could lose crucial US support have grown as Trump’s campaign grows And Biden’s Missteps.
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on Friday.
“I noted the crucial support of both parties and both chambers of the US government for protecting the freedom and independence of our nation,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, saying they had agreed “to discuss in a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.”
Trump said on his social media platform that he appreciated Zelensky’s efforts and vowed to “end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families.”
Blinken said Friday that a new administration must take into account the strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in Congress to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to expand Moscow’s territory and influence.
“Every administration, of course, has the ability to set its own policies. We can’t set 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 security agreements made by the United States and more than two dozen other allies – including several NATO partners, Japan and the European Union. signed at a NATO summit in Washington this month.
“If we get back to that … I think that’s possible, but fortunately there are about 20 other countries that are doing the same thing,” Blinken said.
Ukraine itself was on track to ensure it would “stand on its own two feet militarily, economically and democratically,” Blinken said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also made similar appeals to the international community during an online question-and-answer session on social media site Reddit on Friday. He specifically emphasized Kiev’s willingness to cooperate with whichever party wins the US general election.
“I believe that any US administration must respect three characteristics that distinguish Ukraine from other partners of America who have asked for support,” he said.
“We never asked American troops to fight and die for Ukraine, we only asked for weapons and support for our economy; we never intended to be dependent on foreign aid indefinitely, and that is why we are transforming our economy and tripled domestic arms production last year and plan to increase it sixfold this year; and we are fully transparent about the use of American aid.”
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Katie Marie Davies, Associated Press editor in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.