TOKYO – The crisis in Ukraine is a global issue, not a regional one, U.S. President Joe Biden said at a meeting of the Quad grouping of countries in Tokyo on Tuesday.
“This is more than just a European issue. It’s a global issue,” Biden said.
Stressing that Washington would stand with its “close domestic partners” to push for a free and open Indo-Pacific region, he said: “Russia’s assault of Ukraine only heightens the importance of those goals of fundamental principles of international order, territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Biden is meeting with the other leaders of the so-called “Quad” – Japan, Australia and India – in Tokyo as part of the final day of his first trip to Asia since taking office.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by David Dolan and Tom Hogue)