٠٠:٠٤:٥٧Mandatory courtesy: White House
US National Security Council Co-ordinator John Kirby promised 'several big announcements' were expected on Ukraine during the NATO Summit - and insisted that President Joe Biden was 'up for the job' - during a briefing in Washington DC on Monday.
"The United States and several of our allies will have several big announcements at this week's summit," he said. "The President still believes that NATO is in Ukraine's future."
It comes after media reports suggested that Ukraine was likely to be told it was 'too corrupt' to join the alliance - while Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also faces opposition over his plan for 'multi-year' funding for Kiev, seen as a way to negate the impact of a Trump presidency.
Asked how Biden "plan[s] to reassure American allies in NATO that he's up for the job now when he couldn't confront Trump on stage" - after the much-criticised debate performance and further health concerns - Kirby replied that "your question presupposes the notion that they need to be reassured."
"We're not picking up any signs of that from our allies at all. Quite the contrary, the conversations that we're having with them in advance is they're excited about this summit," he said.
The latest media reports saw the White House forced to deny Biden was being treated for Parkinson's, following reports that his doctor had met with a specialist.
"In my experience, the last two and a half years, I have not seen any reason whatsoever to question or doubt his lucidity, his grasp of context, his probing nature, and the degree to which he is completely in charge of facts and figures," Kirby continued.
"If he isn't, what I've seen is, because it happened to me this morning, when he isn't and when I can't be in command of those facts and figures, I have to fess up and go get the information that he's asking for, and he asked me some questions this morning I didn't have answers for," he added.
Biden will host the NATO Summit in Washington DC from July 9-11, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the alliance. NATO's founding treaty was signed in the US capital in April 1949, with 12 member countries.
'Several big announcements' on Ukraine… and Biden's fine! - Kirby insists Kiev's future with NATO despite internal rows ahead of Summit
US National Security Council Co-ordinator John Kirby promised 'several big announcements' were expected on Ukraine during the NATO Summit - and insisted that President Joe Biden was 'up for the job' - during a briefing in Washington DC on Monday.
"The United States and several of our allies will have several big announcements at this week's summit," he said. "The President still believes that NATO is in Ukraine's future."
It comes after media reports suggested that Ukraine was likely to be told it was 'too corrupt' to join the alliance - while Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also faces opposition over his plan for 'multi-year' funding for Kiev, seen as a way to negate the impact of a Trump presidency.
Asked how Biden "plan[s] to reassure American allies in NATO that he's up for the job now when he couldn't confront Trump on stage" - after the much-criticised debate performance and further health concerns - Kirby replied that "your question presupposes the notion that they need to be reassured."
"We're not picking up any signs of that from our allies at all. Quite the contrary, the conversations that we're having with them in advance is they're excited about this summit," he said.
The latest media reports saw the White House forced to deny Biden was being treated for Parkinson's, following reports that his doctor had met with a specialist.
"In my experience, the last two and a half years, I have not seen any reason whatsoever to question or doubt his lucidity, his grasp of context, his probing nature, and the degree to which he is completely in charge of facts and figures," Kirby continued.
"If he isn't, what I've seen is, because it happened to me this morning, when he isn't and when I can't be in command of those facts and figures, I have to fess up and go get the information that he's asking for, and he asked me some questions this morning I didn't have answers for," he added.
Biden will host the NATO Summit in Washington DC from July 9-11, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the alliance. NATO's founding treaty was signed in the US capital in April 1949, with 12 member countries.
Mandatory courtesy: White House
US National Security Council Co-ordinator John Kirby promised 'several big announcements' were expected on Ukraine during the NATO Summit - and insisted that President Joe Biden was 'up for the job' - during a briefing in Washington DC on Monday.
"The United States and several of our allies will have several big announcements at this week's summit," he said. "The President still believes that NATO is in Ukraine's future."
It comes after media reports suggested that Ukraine was likely to be told it was 'too corrupt' to join the alliance - while Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also faces opposition over his plan for 'multi-year' funding for Kiev, seen as a way to negate the impact of a Trump presidency.
Asked how Biden "plan[s] to reassure American allies in NATO that he's up for the job now when he couldn't confront Trump on stage" - after the much-criticised debate performance and further health concerns - Kirby replied that "your question presupposes the notion that they need to be reassured."
"We're not picking up any signs of that from our allies at all. Quite the contrary, the conversations that we're having with them in advance is they're excited about this summit," he said.
The latest media reports saw the White House forced to deny Biden was being treated for Parkinson's, following reports that his doctor had met with a specialist.
"In my experience, the last two and a half years, I have not seen any reason whatsoever to question or doubt his lucidity, his grasp of context, his probing nature, and the degree to which he is completely in charge of facts and figures," Kirby continued.
"If he isn't, what I've seen is, because it happened to me this morning, when he isn't and when I can't be in command of those facts and figures, I have to fess up and go get the information that he's asking for, and he asked me some questions this morning I didn't have answers for," he added.
Biden will host the NATO Summit in Washington DC from July 9-11, which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the alliance. NATO's founding treaty was signed in the US capital in April 1949, with 12 member countries.