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Transcript/ScriptBIDEN-Europe Diplomacy Wrap
HEADLINE: Biden, NATO Announce More Measures to Thwart Ukraine Invasion TEASER: 'We have to stay fully, totally, thoroughly united' Biden says as NATO, Europe, G-7 try to stop Russian invasion of Ukraine
PUBLISHED: 3/24/2022 at 731p
BYLINE: Anita Powell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Brussels
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Holly Franko, Sharon Shahid
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:25
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO:))
[[A consequential day in not just diplomacy, but in history, with President Joe Biden meeting with NATO, European and G-7 leaders to announce more measures aimed at stopping Russia's invasion of Ukraine with military, economic and humanitarian interventions. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Brussels.]]
((AP pool of family photo: Ap-4372450– start with group, then aim at Biden))
((NARRATOR))
President Joe Biden met Thursday with leaders from NATO, the G-7 and the European Union
((Sequence of devastation in Kyiv, AP-4372404))
to tackle what he has described as the greatest threat to global security since World War Two, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine hits the one-month mark, with thousands of civilian deaths and millions of refugees streaming out of the besieged nation. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/03/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-23-march-2022
He said the 30 NATO nations remain resolute and united in the face of the assault on Ukraine by forces under the command of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
((Sot, English, MRT please clip from feed – around 25:30 in press conference))
((Joe Biden, US President))
"The single most important thing is for us to stay unified. And the world continue to focus on what a brute this guy is, and all the innocent people's lives that are being lost and ruined, and what's going on. That's the important thing. But look, if you're Putin, and you think that Europe is going to crack in a month or six weeks or two months, why not? They can take anything for another month. But we have to demonstrate — the reason I asked for the meeting — we have to stay fully, totally, thoroughly united."
((Return to Biden presser scene, AP-4372551))
((NARRATOR))
He also said that if Russia were to use chemical weapons,
((Sot, English, AP-4372554))
((Joe Biden, U.S. President))
"We would respond. We would respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use."
((Sequence of world leaders AP-4372524))
((NARRATOR))
Biden also announced $1.3 billion in additional aid to Ukraine and said the U.S. would open the door to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and would sanction more Russian elites, more than 40 Russian defense companies and 300 Russian legislators.
((Establish Zelenskyy and then SOT AP-4372483))
Ukraine's president attended the NATO meeting virtually and took a hard line with the 30 leaders, though U.S. officials were quick to note that he did not repeat his previous request for a no-fly zone or for NATO membership. On Thursday, he made specific requests.
((SOT, Ukrainian, AP-4372483))
((Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President)) ((in Ukrainian))
"You have at least 20,000 tanks. Ukraine asked for 1 percent of all your tanks. Give to us or sell to us. But we do not have a clear answer yet. The worst thing during the war is not having clear answers to requests for help."
((Sequence from NATO meeting, AP-4372473))
((NARRATOR))
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance is stepping up its defenses against chemical and nuclear weapons as concern mounts that Russia might use such weapons in Ukraine.
He also announced the formation of four new battle groups — in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia — something eastern European leaders say is urgently needed.
((SOT, English, AP-4372467))
((Kaja Kallas, Estonian Prime Minister))
"I think we have to double our efforts. Putin cannot win this war. This is very important to all of us, to the security of NATO, as well. And the second thing we need to discuss is how to increase our defense spending and how to do it very wisely. So that we strengthen the eastern flank and especially the Baltic countries, because we can't have this plan to, you know, defend the country alone and then be liberated afterwards."
((Sequence of refugees in Poland AP-un002837))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: UNHCR))
((NARRATOR))
Biden heads Friday to Poland, where he will meet with Poland's president, and, he said, meet with "a lot of people," though he declined to say who or where he is going.
((Sequence of latest in Ukraine, AP-4372513))
Meanwhile, just 1,300 miles from Brussels, Ukraine marks one month at war, with thousands of civilian deaths
((Sequence of refugee scenes: AP-4372422))
and more than 3.6 million refugees, according to the United Nations. For those Ukrainians, nothing will ever be the same.
((MANDATORY COURTESY: UNHCR))
((Anita Powell, VOA News, Brussels))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline) Brussels
Embargo DateMarch 24, 2022 20:12 EDT
Byline
((Anita Powell, VOA News, Brussels))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
