Biden shares his vision of peace in Ukraine

Biden said this in an interview with the TIME magazine, Ukrinform reports.

"Biden says he remains committed to Ukrainian victory," the magazine wrote.

Asked about the war's endgame, Biden says, "Peace looks like making sure Russia never, never, never, never occupies Ukraine."

At the same time, he noted that this should not necessarily mean Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.

"And it doesn't mean NATO. [...] It means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in the future. But it is not, if you notice, I was the one when -- and you guys did report it at TIME -- the one that I was saying that I am not prepared to support the NATOization of Ukraine," Biden said.

However, Biden did not avoid criticism regarding his policy on the Ukrainian issue, according to the media outlet. Biden's allies in Kyiv complain he has been too cautious, giving Ukraine enough weapons to survive the war but not to win it.

On balance, however, even longtime critics are impressed with Biden's efforts in Ukraine. Former Defense Secretary and CIA director Robert Gates wrote in 2014 that Biden had "been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national-security issue over the past four decades." But on May 19, Gates said that Biden's response to Russia's invasion has gone a long way toward repairing the damage of the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.

"He gained a lot of credibility with the speed with which he assembled the coalition of partner countries, allies, and friends before, during, and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine," Gates told CBS's Face the Nation.

Biden says his response has been part of a broader deterrence strategy. "If we ever let Ukraine go down, mark my words, you'll see Poland go, and you'll see all those nations along the actual border of Russia [fall]," he told TIME.

Photo: The White House