Memorandum on the Delegation of Authority Under Section 506(a)(1) and Section 614(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
FEBRUARY 25, 2022
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
SUBJECT: Delegation of Authority Under Section 506(a)(1) and Section 614(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the following authorities, subject to fulfilling the requirements of section 614(a)(3) and section 652 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), in order to provide immediate military assistance to Ukraine:
(1) the authority under section 614(a)(1) of the FAA to determine whether it is important to the security interests of the United States to furnish up to $250 million in assistance without regard to any provision of law within the purview of section 614(a)(1) of the FAA; and
(2) the authority under section 506(a)(1) of the FAA to direct the drawdown of up to an aggregate value of $350 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, and to make the determinations required under such section to direct such a drawdown.
You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
Statement of the President on the NATO Summit and Call with President Zelenskyy
FEBRUARY 25, 202
Today I met with fellow leaders from our NATO Allies to discuss our shared commitment to collective defense and Transatlantic security. As President Putin threatens the very foundations of international peace and security, NATO is once again demonstrating that it stands for freedom and democracy.
As I said yesterday, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory. Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad. I have ordered the deployment of additional forces to augment our capabilities in Europe to support our NATO Allies. And I strongly welcome the decision to activate NATO’s defensive plans and elements of the NATO Response Force to strengthen our collective posture, as well as the commitments by our Allies to deploy additional land and air forces to the eastern flank and maritime forces from the High North to the Mediterranean.
We were joined today by our close partners Sweden, Finland, and the European Union. President Putin has failed in his goal of dividing the West. NATO is as united and resolute as it’s ever been, and NATO will maintain its Open Door to those European states who share our values and who one day may seek to join our Alliance. As we navigate this crisis, we pledged to work even more closely together in our defense of freedom and the democratic values that imbue our Alliance with purpose and power.
Immediately after the NATO Summit, I spoke with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. I commended the brave actions of the Ukrainian people who were fighting to defend their country. I also conveyed ongoing economic, humanitarian, and security support being provided by the United States as well as our continued efforts to rally other countries to provide similar assistance.
Joint Statement on Further Restrictive Economic Measures
FEBRUARY 26, 2022
We, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States condemn Putin’s war of choice and attacks on the sovereign nation and people of Ukraine. We stand with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people in their heroic efforts to resist Russia’s invasion. Russia’s war represents an assault on fundamental international rules and norms that have prevailed since the Second World War, which we are committed to defending. We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.
This past week, alongside our diplomatic efforts and collective work to defend our own borders and to assist the Ukrainian government and people in their fight, we, as well as our other allies and partners around the world, imposed severe measures on key Russian institutions and banks, and on the architects of this war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies. We will implement these measures within the coming days.
Specifically, we commit to undertake the following measures:
First, we commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally.
Second, we commit to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions.
Third, we commit to acting against the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government. Specifically, we commit to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship—so called golden passports—that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.
Fourth, we commit to launching this coming week a transatlantic task force that will ensure the effective implementation of our financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within our jurisdictions. As a part of this effort we are committed to employing sanctions and other financial and enforcement measures on additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families, and their enablers to identify and freeze the assets they hold in our jurisdictions. We will also engage other governments and work to detect and disrupt the movement of ill-gotten gains, and to deny these individuals the ability to hide their assets in jurisdictions across the world.
Finally, we will step up or coordination against disinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare.
We stand with the Ukrainian people in this dark hour. Even beyond the measures we are announcing today, we are prepared to take further measures to hold Russia to account for its attack on Ukraine.
