Thank you.
>> Welcome to the newshour
president Biden is in Finland
tonight, after an eventful
two-day "Nato" summit in nearby
Lithuania.
>> Finland is the newest member
of the trans-atlantic alliance,
and Mr. Biden will celebrate
that tomorrow. But there was
still much to do on this second
day of the "Nato" summit, as the
alliance expands in the face of
Russia's ongoing invasion of
Ukraine. Our Laura barron-lopez
was there.
>> You're stuck W us
>> A warm moment between wartime
partners after a tense
twenty-four hours.
>> Thank you very much to all
these days you are with us, I
mean you, and Americans, all
Americans, and congress.
>> President Joe Biden- for the
first time publicly hinted that
Ukraine's nato membership could
come sooner than previously
thought
>> I hope we finally have put to
bed the notion about whether or
not Ukraine is welcome, nato is
going to happen, whether we're
all moving in the right
direction. I think it's just a
matter of getting by the next
few months here.
>> Ukrainian president vlodomir
zelensky arrived for summit
meetings with a softer tone and
clear eyed that membership in
the midst of war was off the
table.
>> We hear and understand that
we'll have this invitation when
security measures will allow.
>> He did secure commitments
from the U.S. And other group of
seven leaders that look ahead -
a joint declaration pledged
long-term security assistance
designed to help Ukraine defend
itself against future attacks:
>> We're going to help Ukraine
build a strong, capable defense
across land, air and sea - from
which we will be a force of
stability in the region and
deter against any and all
threats.
>> That announcement helped cool
tensions from yesterday when
zelenskyy called the absence of
a clear timeline for Ukraine to
join nato 'absurd'.
>> Morning, morning
>> But today zelenskyy greeted
nato secretary general Jens
Stoltenberg with a hug the two
agreeing the summit sent a clear
signal.
>> Today we meet as equals. I
look forward to when we meet as
allies.
>> I'm confident after the war,
Ukraine will be in nato.
>> "This is truly a historic
moment"
>> And they gathered for the
inaugural meeting of the
nato-ukraine council - a new
panel designed to grant
zelenskyy more power in some
nato decisions.
[Applause]
But the war is in its
five-hundred-and-fourth day its
toll on Ukrainians evident in
zelensky's persuasion campaign
for weapons. He praised
president Biden for the decision
to send cluster munitions to the
front lines.
>> And this is about justice: We
defend ourselves. We are
defending ourselves without
using appropriate weapons on the
territory of other states. As
for the rest of the aid, we need
long-range weapons, this deficit
hasn't gone away. And I will
raise this question.
>> While Ukraine dominated the
agenda in Vilnius - the alliance
also took steps to fortify its
own members' borders.
>> "Our security is
interconnected"
>> For the first time since the
cold war - they approved new
defense plans in case of an
attack on nato territory.
They reinforced a 2% of gdp
defense-spending minimum. So
far, just seven of the 31 member
countries hit that target.
They also hosted indo-pacific
leaders to deepen global ties
against other adversaries,
including China.
And saw a deal struck for
Sweden's nato membership --
though Turkish president recep
tayyip erdogan said today his
country will not immediately
vote on it.
>> "Now we have a two-month
parliamentary vacation our goal
is to finish this job as soon as
possible."
>> "Hello Lithuania!"
>> In a post-summit speech,
president Biden celebrated
nato's unity in downtown
Vilnius.
>> Strong alliances. Versatile
partnerships. Common purpose.
Collective action, to meet our
shared challenges.
>> Continuing the victory lap
for nato's expansion - president
Biden travels to Finland
tomorrow his first presidential
visit to the newest member of
the nato alliance.
Moments before boarding air
force one to Helsinki, president
Biden said they accomplished
every goal at the summit and
that Ukraine now understands the
timing of their nato membership
is less important than continued
military aid, amna?.
>> The nato summit began with a
tense 24 hours between president
Biden and zelenskyy that seems
to have shifted.
What's the status between the
two leaders postsummit?
>> President zelenskyy went from
calling it absurd that there was
no clear timeline for them to
join nato, also that it was a
sign of weakness that would
encourage Russian aggression.
He said that on Tuesday, then 24
hours later sitting alongside
president Biden praised the
president as well as Americans
and president Biden also
welcomed that praise and said
they were standing by Ukraine.
I spoke to Jake Sullivan today
about all of it and he said
president zelenskyy had the
right to voice frustration and
to say that they wanted
immediate nato membership, but
that ultimately it has to be
agreed upon by all 31 members of
nato.
>> Tell us more about the next
steps for delivering assistance
to Ukraine.
What is the white house doing to
help guarantee that assistance
in the short-term and long-term?
>> In the near term, it's going
to be the cluster munitions that
we reported on and that
zelenskyy also said are
something that is very important
to Ukraine to have right now.
President Biden again right
before he boarded air force one
said he was open to potentially
sending long-range missiles.
That is something that zelenskyy
has repeatedly asked for and he
asked again at the summit and
said he was going to bring it up
with president Biden during
their one-on-one.
It was significant that he
appeared to float that as an
option.
All of this is with an eye
toward the annual summit next
year in Washington, D.C. Where
the nato members to be checking
in on Ukraine status on reforms.
In the time between now and the
next summit, they committed to
Ukraine that they were going to
give them more security
assistance on intelligence
sharing, military aid, and a
host of other aid.
>> That is our white house
correspondent reporting live
from Helsinki, Finland.
Thank you.