Biden vows to Eastern European allies to defend "every inch" of NATO

MADRID, 22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has promised before a group of leaders of NATO countries of Eastern Europe that his Administration will defend "literally every inch" of the territory of the Atlantic Alliance, in a context of growing concern about the possible extension of the Ukrainian conflict.

Biden, who visited Kiev for the first time on Monday, has reiterated Washington's commitment to the area, taking advantage of a meeting in Warsaw attended by the main political leaders of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Republic Czech Republic and Romania, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The North American president has insisted that NATO is now "stronger" than a year ago, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and has given this forum of nine countries that precisely it arose after Moscow took control of Crimea.

"Now that we are approaching the first anniversary of the invasion, it is even more important that we continue to be together," he said. Biden has pointed out that what is known as the eastern flank of the Alliance is "the front line of the collective defense", to which he has appealed clearly and directly.

The region, he added, "knows better than anyone that what is at stake in this conflict is not only Ukraine, but the freedom of democracies."

Article 5 of the NATO treaties contemplates collective defense in the event that one of the Alliance member states is attacked, a commitment that Biden has described as "sacred". "We will literally defend every inch of NATO, every inch of NATO", he has stressed.

In this sense, he stressed that Washington's commitment to its partners is "absolutely clear."