WASHINGTON, United States
Outgoing US President Joe Biden on Monday delivered his final foreign policy address at the State Department in Washington, one week before handing power to his Republican successor, Donald Trump.
Biden's speech addressed
everything from his work to forge stronger American alliances to his
administration's policies towards Ukraine and China.
"Compared to four years
ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and
rivals are weaker," Biden said after diplomats gave him a standing
ovation.
The president said that he is
"leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to
play," with "an America that once again is leading, uniting
countries, setting the agenda, bringing others together behind our plans and
missions."
Biden says a ceasefire deal in
the Israel-Hamas war is "on the brink" of being finalized.
His administration, which has
provided Israel with
billions of dollars worth of arms aid since the October 7, 2023, attacks, is
"pressing hard" to close the deal.
"The deal we have (…)
would free
the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us
to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered
terribly in this war that Hamas started," Biden said.
Over the past four years, the
president helped restore US relations with NATO countries that had
become strained under Trump.
Biden said partners in the
NATO military alliance are "paying their fair share" — a
stance Trump does not share.
"Before I took office,
nine NATO
allies are spending 2% of the GDP on defense. Now, 23 are spending
2%," he added.
Biden also hailed his
success in preventing Russia from a swift takeover of Ukraine after Moscow
launched a
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
When Russian President
Vladimir Putin "invaded Ukraine, he thought he (could) conquer
Kyiv in a matter of days. The truth is, since that war began, I'm the only one
that stood in the center of Kyiv, not him," the president said.
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