With all eyes on the war in Ukraine, the US and its allies have maintained their sanctions and effectively dismissed attempts to end the conflict, while increasing arms packages for Ukraine. 

In an exclusive interview with ABC News on Friday, US President Joe Biden addressed a wide range of foreign and domestic issues, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and the recent balloon fiasco that dominated US news for weeks.

The president barely discussed his 2024 presidential bid, which he has yet to confirm, but instead assured the public that he "intends" to run for a second term.

Ukraine & military aid

In an interview with ABC's David Muir, the US president stated that he was ruling out the possibility of Washington supplying Ukraine with any F-16 fighter jets "for the time being," explaining that the Kiev government "doesn't need F-16s now."

Related News

Putin open to meeting Zelensky pending expert-level talks: Peskov

Pro-'Israel' Democrats breaking with Netanyahu amid Gaza war

When asked if this means Ukraine will "never" receive the fighter jets, Biden stated that he believes the moment is simply not right for such a shipment. "There is no basis upon which there is a rationale, according to our military now, to provide F-16s," Biden said. "I am ruling it out for now."

Biden's remark comes after the Kiev regime has repeatedly requested F-16 fighter jets to bolster its military power against Russia. According to Biden, the fourth-generation supersonic fighter will not be supplied.

Balloon fiasco 

After weeks of heightened tensions, Biden admitted that Beijing may have been unaware that the Chinese balloon flying over the US was on its way to transit the country. “It is almost not relevant,” Biden said on Friday when asked whether he believes the balloon was intentionally flown over the US. “There is a possibility [China did not know].”
 
The US shot down the alleged surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, despite China insisting that the balloon was part of a civilian weather research project.

Just days after the Chinese balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, the US revealed that it had shot down three more "objects" it deemed dangerous.

No benefit in China's Ukraine peace plan: Biden

Concerning the recent release of China's position paper on the war in Ukraine, Biden stated that nothing in China's proposed plan for Ukraine benefits any nation other than Russia. The president went on to say that "the idea that China would be negotiating the outcome of a war... is just not rational."
 
Biden went on to say that he does not expect China to launch a significant initiative to supply weapons to Russia.
 
However, the president mentioned that the US "would react" if it turned out that China had in fact given Russia any kind of "lethal weapons" to help it. He merely mentioned the US' ongoing sanctions effort without going into detail about the US response.

"It would be the same line everyone else would have crossed. In other words, we've imposed severe sanctions on anyone who has done that," Biden said.

It's worth mentioning that the European Union previously emphasized the lack of any proof that Beijing has provided weapons.