Biden lands in Poland as US says it won't use chemical weapons even if Russia does

Jake Sullivan says there’s a ‘convergence’ among Western leaders on how they’d respond

The United States has “no intention” of using chemical weapons under any circumstance even if Russia uses such weapons in Ukraine, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday as US President Joe Biden arrived in Poland to meet troops stationed there.

“There will be a severe price if Russia uses chemical weapons. And I won’t go beyond that other than to say the United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstance,” Sullivan told reporters on board Air Force One.

Sullivan said there was now a “convergence” between Western leaders on what measures to take in case Russia uses chemical weapons and added that the White House had set up a working group on the issue.

“We have made considerable efforts to put ourselves in a position to respond effectively,” he said, shortly before the plane carrying Biden landed in Poland — around 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

The president met US soldiers stationed in the area and non-governmental organizations helping Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion.

Visiting the region more than a month after Russia launched its assault, Biden will travel on to Warsaw to meet Polish leaders and visit a reception center for refugees.

US President Joe Biden delivers a speech during a visit to service members from the 82nd Airborne Division, who are contributing alongside Polish Allies to deterrence on the Alliance’s Eastern Flank, in the city of Rzeszow in southeastern Poland, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Ukraine, March 25, 2022. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

He is due to wrap up the visit on Saturday with a major speech.

Sullivan has noted that there were around 10,500 US soldiers currently in Poland and reiterated Biden’s promise to defend “every inch” of NATO territory.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused Biden earlier on Friday of seeking to divert attention from his country’s chemical and biological weapons program after he said Russia could use such weapons in Ukraine.

“We see this as an attempt to divert attention to some kind of ephemeral, allegedly existing threat against the backdrop of a scandal that is flaring up in the world involving chemical and biological weapons programs that the United States has been carrying out in various countries, including Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 17, 2020, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sits in front of a screen displaying Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing his annual press conference via a video link from the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, at the World Trade Centre’s congress center in Moscow. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP)

On Monday, the US president said it was “clear” Russia was considering using chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine and warned of a “severe” Western response if it chose to do so.

He also denied that the United States was holding chemical and biological weapons in Europe.

“Simply not true. I guarantee you,” he told a gathering of US business leaders in Washington.