Embassy of Poland

Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Thank you very much. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a great pleasure for me to represent the United States and U.S. Mission in China here tonight. I want to salute my friend Pavlo, the Ukrainian ambassador who spoke so brilliantly, so powerfully about his country’s cause that all of us should support.

Thank you to all my colleagues for speaking tonight. I agree with everything that’s been said and as the last person to speak, I have three messages from my government.

First, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two years ago this week, constitutes the greatest threat to peace in Europe, to peace in the world, since the second World War. Everything that Americans, Canadians, Europeans—people across the world—everything that we hold dear – a future of freedom, of security, of order, of a Europe whole, free and at peace – everything is at stake in the battle for Ukraine.

Russia’s invasion is a capital crime, a fundamental violation of the United Nations Charter, a direct assault on the international order. Putin must be stopped in Ukraine. And he must be deterred, lest he threaten Poland or Estonia or Latvia, or Lithuania, our NATO allies, lest he threaten NATO itself. The murder of Alexei Navalny tells us all we need to know about the cruel, heartless, cynical, authoritarian leadership in Moscow.

Second, I’m proud to stand with Pavlo [Pavlo Riabikin, Ukrainian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China] this evening. He’s a personal friend, and I admire him and I respect him. He also represents something very great. The valor, courage, determination of the people of Ukraine and of its great leader, President Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace. They deserve to be secure from the imperialistic designs of their avaricious neighbor. They deserve freedom.

We see on every front over the last two years in this terrible war, the extraordinary resilience, and courage of the Ukrainian armed forces. Ukraine’s future does belong in Europe, in the European Union, and as a partner in NATO.

So I’m proud to stand here tonight to salute Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. I’m very proud of all NATO has done. Over the last two years, NATO has been transformed. It’s been awakened by this war. It’s been energized through our commitment to President Zelenskyy and to the people of Ukraine. And I very much admire what the European Union has done. It’s been a leader, and it’s going to continue to support Ukraine, which we very much value and treasure.

Third, I fully realize there are many questions tonight about my own country. I want to answer those questions directly. President Biden, the United States Congress and the American people have stood by Ukraine in strong support since February 24th of 2022. We have provided $75 billion in military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people. We’ve encouraged our NATO allies to do the same. And we provided weapons critical for the war effort. President Biden, our Vice President Kamala Harris, and our Secretary of State Tony Blinken, have all spoken this week about our absolute determination to continue our military and economic assistance to the Ukrainian people.

And speaking personally, I hope, and I have to believe, the United States Congress will support Ukraine, too, in its hour of need. It is absolutely vital that America act. To do otherwise, would risk Putin getting away with a crime of historic dimensions. Failure to help Ukraine by the United States this winter, this year would be a monumental strategic mistake. It would risk a retreat of the West and would contradict the lessons that we Americans learned in the Second World War, in the long decades of the Cold War that America cannot isolate itself from the world, but must remain centrally and resolutely involved in it on the side of democracy, on the side of freedom. That is a message that Russia needs to hear. And it’s a message that the people’s Republic of China also needs to hear.

So how about China? The United States is disappointed that China continues to provide political and diplomatic support to Moscow’s fundamental break with the United Nations Charter two years ago in its brutal, illegal invasion of Ukraine.  We are disappointed the state-controlled press here blames NATO and the European Union for this war. The blame is squarely on the shoulders of one man in the Kremlin. We are very concerned by the actions of Chinese companies that fuel Russia’s defense industrial complex. We have raised those concerns quite recently in the last two to three weeks with our Chinese counterparts. China’s silence on the existential issue of Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence is deafening. And its support to Russia is very troubling indeed.

Let me conclude by saluting Pavlo, by saluting all the Ukrainians here tonight from the Ukrainian embassy, from its military and its diplomatic corps. Let us salute the great and courageous leadership in Kiev, the brave Ukrainian people who deserve our unstinting support tonight and every night until Ukraine is whole again, free again, at peace again. Slava Ukraini!

Thank you very much.