Remarks by President Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine Before Bilateral Meeting
InterContinental Paris Le Grand Hotel
Paris, France
12:50 P.M. CEST
PRESIDENT BIDEN: Mr. President, it’s good to see you again. Good to be by your side.
PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Good to see you, too. Thank you so much.
PRESIDENT BIDEN: I — you know, as I said yesterday at the American Cemetery, the Ukrainian people have been incredibly brave, have never given up, never staying — never — never even yielding, and it’s impressive. And you saw the reception you received when everyone stood and gave you a standing ovation. And they deserve it — you deserve it.
And, you know, you haven’t bowed down. You haven’t yielded at all. You continue to fight in a way that is — it’s just remarkable. It’s remarkable. And I’m — we’re not going to walk away from you.
I apologize for the — those weeks of not knowing what was going to pan — in terms of funding, because we had trouble getting the — a bill that we had to pass that had the money in it — from some of our very conservative members who were holding it up. But we got it done, finally.
And since then, including today, I’ve announced six packages of significant funding. Today, I’m also signing an additional package for $225 million to help you reconstruct the — the electric grid. And — and once we got the national security bill passed — that was a political issue — we were able to get it all done.
And the way you’ve stood and holding on — and holding on in Kharkiv, and you’ve proven once again the people of Ukraine cannot and will never be — will retake it.
And I assure you the United States is going to stand with you. I’ve said that all during this debate, and I continue to say it. The United States is standing with you. You are the bulwark against the aggression that’s taken place. We have an obligation to be there.
And so, I’m looking forward to having a detailed discussion with you about where we’ll go from here. But we’re still in completely, thoroughly.
Thank you.
PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Thank you so much, Mr. President. First of all, thank you so much for your significant support — you, your administration. We’re very thankful from all Ukrainians to your military support, financial support, humanitarian one. And, of course, it’s very important.
And our meeting here is very symbolic. It’s very important that you stay with us. This bipartisan support with the Congress — it’s very important that in this unity, the United States of America, all American people stay with Ukraine.
Like it was during World War Two, how the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe — and we count on your continuing support and standing with us shoulder to shoulder. Thank you so much.
And this big package which has been signed and supported and voted, and it’s very important. It’s so necessary for — for this — for the feeling of our people that we are not alone. We are with you, with our strategic partner.
And, of course, we’ll — I want, today, to — to speak about strengthening of Kharkiv region. You said already, it’s so important. And your decisions have been very, very — had very positive influence.
I don’t want to share it — everything, all the details — with press. Sorry. But I think there are some details from the battlefield which you have — which you — you — you need to hear from us. We are thankful for this.
Also, I want to speak about air defense totally on our territory. And we are thankful for participation in peace summit on the level of Vice President. Thank you so much. We think that we will have more than 100 countries, and I — I hope that it will be a first step on this way to peace. We need peace in Ukraine, but we will stay — anyway — stay strong.
And, of course, I want to discuss some future events.
Thank you, again.
PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you.
12:55 P.M. CEST
