THE US President Joe Biden accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin today of being “hungry for land and power” and vowed that NATO would not waver in its support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

In his speech in Lithuania at the end of the two-day NATO summit, Biden hailed the Lithuanian people, the addition of Finland to the alliance and the impending accession of neighboring Sweden.

“NATO is stronger, more active and, yes, more united than ever in its history. Indeed, it is most vital to our common future. This did not happen by accident. It was not inevitable,” Biden told the thousands of people who had gathered at Vilnius University and were cheering him on, holding Lithuanian and American flags.

“When Putin, with a coward’s lust for land and power, unleashed this brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting that NATO would fall apart. He believed that NATO would crumble. He believed that our unity would be torn apart at the first test. He believed that democratic leaders would be weak. But he was wrong,” he added.

Biden’s speech was aimed at rallying allies and highlighting his role on the world stage ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign, in which he will seek re-election.

Despite the positive message, four NATO diplomats involved in the talks in Vilnius said, according to Reuters, that US officials struggled with their counterparts in Vilnius to reach a consensus on where the war is headed, how end and what assurances they will give to Ukraine for its future within the Alliance. Ukraine got none of what it had hoped for: no invitation to join, no concrete timetable for when it would happen. NATO countries agreed only that it would join “when the allies agree and the conditions are met”, as stated in their communiqué.