Joint Statement by President von der Leyen and President Biden

25 Mar 2022 01:08 PM

Joint Statement given yesterday by President von der Leyen and President Biden.

We are united in our condemnation of Russia's unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who are bravely defending their homeland, and we call on Russia to end the brutal onslaught against its neighbor.  We are united in our support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.  And we are united in our resolve to defend our shared values, including democracy, respect for human rights, global peace and stability, and the rules-based international order. 

Today, we are continuing coordinated transatlantic efforts to support the Ukrainian people, impose severe costs on Russia for its unjustifiable actions, and strengthen the resilience of our democracies, economies, and societies. In particular,

• The United States and the European Union have strengthened and aligned their sanctions regimes, together with like-minded partners across the world. Additionally, efforts should be stepped up to coordinate responses against sanctions evasion.
• We continue to mobilize and coordinate significant humanitarian relief to support people within Ukraine, those who have been forced to flee, and those affected by the severe impacts Russia's war is causing around the world. This includes more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance the United States is prepared to provide and €550 million from the EU.
• The United States and the European Union are coordinating closely to ensure that their efforts on temporary protection and humanitarian admission, including resettlement or transfers, are complementary and provide much-needed support to Ukraine's neighbors.
• We are announcing new actions to bolster democratic resilience and defend human rights in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
• The United States and the European Union are supporting the work of war crimes documentation experts who are gathering evidence on the ground in Ukraine.
• We are taking further, concrete steps in our energy cooperation to ensure the security of supply and to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
• In order to prevent a potential food crisis triggered by price hikes and disruptions to food supply sparked by Putin's war in Ukraine, we intend to redouble our combined efforts to increase global food security and provide direct food aid, where warranted, to our partners worldwide.
• We will advance our cooperation on cybersecurity through a variety of actions, from supporting the Government of Ukraine on cyber resilience and cyber defense to aiming to combat the abuse of virtual currency.

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