Biden was speaking to reporters before holding closed-door talks with ally German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a swansong one-day trip to Berlin to discuss matters ranging from Ukraine to the expanding conflict in the Middle East.
“As Ukraine faces a tough winter, we must, we must sustain our resolve,” Biden said in a statement. “And I know the cost is heavy, but make no mistake, it bears in comparison to the cost of living in a world where aggression prevails, where large states attack and bully smaller ones simply because they can,” he added.
He said he would discuss with Scholz efforts to increase military support for Ukraine and shore up its civilian energy infrastructure “by unlocking the value of frozen Russian assets.” They would also discuss the Middle East conflict.
Biden’s trip comes just 2 1/2 weeks before the U.S. presidential vote, where former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is seeking re-election in a dead heat race against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate.
Trump has signaled he would be more reluctant than Biden to continue to support Ukraine, which could deprive Kyiv of its biggest military and financial backer.
He has also indicated that U.S. aid to allies in the NATO western military alliance would come with conditions attached.
Earlier on Friday, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier referred to previously strained European-U.S. ties under Trump’s first 2017-2021 presidency during a ceremony to award Biden Germany’s highest order of merit.
“Just a handful of years ago, the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other,” he said of Europe and the United States. “When you were elected president, you restored Europe’s hope in the transatlantic alliance literally overnight.”
Steinmeier said the NATO alliance was indispensable.
“So in the months to come, I hope that Europeans remember, America is indispensable for us. And I hope that Americans remember your allies are indispensable for you,” he added.
