Biden slams Trump's Ukraine policy as ‘modern-day appeasement'

Indian Express

07-05-2025

In his first interview since leaving the White House, former US President Joe Biden has strongly criticised the Trump administration's position on Ukraine, warning that calls for Kyiv to cede territory to Russia amount to 'modern-day appeasement.'
Speaking from Delaware in an exclusive interview with the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin views Ukraine as part of Russia and warned against assuming that conceding land would stop further aggression. 'Anybody that thinks he's going to stop (if territory is conceded) is just foolish,' he told the BBC.
Biden's remarks come as Allied nations mark the 80th anniversary of Victory Day. He expressed alarm over the potential breakdown of US-Europe relations under President Donald Trump, telling the BBC that it 'would change the modern history of the world.'
The interview covered a wide range of topics, including Biden's own legacy on Ukraine, his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race, and the direction of Trump's second term. Biden dropped out less than four months before the election following a debate performance that raised concerns about his age and capabilities.
When asked if he should have stepped aside earlier to allow more time for a successor, he responded, 'I don't think it would have mattered. We left at a time when we had a good candidate.' He added, 'things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away. And it was a hard decision… I think it was the right decision. I think that… it was just a difficult decision.'
Addressing US foreign policy under Trump, Biden rejected recent remarks by Trump calling for the US to reclaim the Panama Canal, acquire Greenland, and make Canada the 51st state. 'What the hell's going on here? What president ever talks like that? That's not who we are,' Biden told the BBC. 'We're about freedom, democracy, opportunity, not about confiscation.'
On the war in Ukraine, Biden defended his administration's support for Kyiv during his presidency, asserting, 'we gave them everything they needed to provide for their independence, and we were prepared to respond, more aggressively, if Putin moved again.'
He also condemned recent Trump administration suggestions that Ukraine should agree to territorial concessions in exchange for peace. Vice President JD Vance recently said a peace deal would 'freeze the territorial lines… close to where they are today,' while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders 'unrealistic.'
In response, Biden told the BBC, 'it is modern-day appeasement,' invoking comparisons to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's failed strategy of appeasing Adolf Hitler before World War II.
He also warned of the broader geopolitical consequences of such a move, stating that, 'Europe is going to lose confidence in the certainty of America and the leadership of America.'
Trump has previously stated that Russia should retain Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and last month criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for rejecting a peace proposal. Media reports suggest recent U.S. proposals might include formal or de facto recognition of Russian control over parts of Ukrainian territory, though the White House has not confirmed such details. When asked about his stance on the matter, Trump said, 'I have no favourites. I don't want to have any favourites. I want to have a deal done.'
The BBC noted that pressure to compromise is not only coming from Washington. Last month, Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko told the broadcaster that Ukraine may need to temporarily give up some territory.
Biden voiced deep concern about the long-term consequences of such thinking. 'I just don't understand how people think that if we allow a dictator, a thug, to decide he's going to take significant portions of land that aren't his, that that's going to satisfy him. I don't quite understand,' he told the BBC. He warned that if Ukraine concedes territory, some NATO countries bordering Russia might eventually 'just say we've got to make an accommodation.'
Relations between Washington and Kyiv have frayed in recent months. In February, a contentious Oval Office meeting saw Trump and Vance scold Zelensky, demanding more public gratitude for American aid. Biden told the BBC he was appalled. 'I found it sort of beneath America in the way that took place,' he said.
While the US remains Ukraine's largest individual donor, European nations have collectively contributed more, according to the Kiel Institute. Yet Trump and his officials continue to accuse Europe of not pulling its weight. Biden pushed back on this criticism saying, 'I don't understand how they fail to understand that there's strength in alliances…There's benefits… It saves us money overall.'
Asked to compare his record with Trump's first 100 days back in office—which have seen sweeping executive actions and major budget cuts—Biden sought to draw a sharp contrast. 'Our economy was growing. We were moving in a direction where the stock market was way up. We were in a situation where we were expanding our influence around the world in a positive way, increasing trade,' he said of the state of the country when he left office in January.
When asked directly for his opinion on Trump's performance since returning to the White House, Biden simply said, 'I'll let history judge that. I don't see anything that was triumphant.'