In the midst of a tense geopolitical landscape, Vice President Kamala Harris has emerged as a pivotal figure in the U.S. response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. She recently defended President Biden's strategy of rallying Western allies to support Ukraine, while simultaneously criticizing her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, for his past remarks perceived as emboldening Russian aggression. As Ukraine’s NATO ambitions remain a contentious issue, this article delves into the nuances of their opposing stances, highlighting the complexities of international diplomacy amid rising tensions.
During her keynote speech during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago on Thursday, Harris emphasized her intention to “strengthen, not abdicate our global leadership.”
She also claimed that Donald Trump “encouraged” Russia’s actions against Ukraine.
RT reports: Harris touted her record of helping Biden to rally Western nations to funnel arms and money to Kiev.
Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO is one of the key causes of the ongoing crisis, according to Moscow, which considers the prospect a threat to its own national security.
Harris, who last month replaced Biden as her party’s presidential pick, claimed that her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, had “encouraged” Moscow by supposedly saying that “Russia could ‘do whatever the hell they want’ five days before” the hostilities broke out in February 2022.
The misquote appears to come from Trump’s speech at a campaign rally in South Carolina in February of this year, when he revealed an exchange he’d had while president with the head of a European NATO member.
The official wondered whether the US would defend their country in the event of a Russian attack, even though its government was not meeting the NATO target for defense spending. Trump said he had threatened to abandon “delinquent” members of the US-led bloc in such a scenario.
On Wednesday, Trump claimed during a campaign event in North Carolina that Harris had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin three days before the Ukraine crisis escalated into open conflict.
“Do you think she did a good job? She met with Putin to tell him ‘Don’t do it’, and three days later he attacked,” he stated.
Harris did travel to Europe in February 2022 to meet Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky – a fact that she highlighted in her speech at the DNC. There is no evidence that she and Putin ever met.