President Biden will have a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Europe, the White House confirmed Monday.
The White House has not said when the meeting will take place. Zelensky is set to attend the summit and hold a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Wednesday, according to the NATO schedule of events.
The meeting with Zelensky comes after Biden said Ukraine isn’t ready for a NATO membership. In an interview, Biden said NATO members have a responsibility to defend each other, something he said Ukraine could not do while fighting a war against Russia.
Biden did recently announce he would send cluster munitions, which a number of NATO members have effectively banned, to Ukraine.
Biden defended the controversial decision in the same interview, saying that Ukraine needed them after the approval of the transfer sparked concern over the weapon’s ability to harm civilians.