VP Harris heralds NATO unity as Ukraine crisis grows

By AAMER MADHANI and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press

MUNICH (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has heralded NATO unity during the escalating Ukraine crisis and warned Russia that the U.S. and Western allies stood ready to respond with tough sanctions if President Vladimir Putin moves forward with an invasion of Ukraine. Harris met Friday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Germany as the annual Munich Security Conference got underway. She thanked the alliance for “all that you have done” throughout the crisis. Harris said that Biden administration remains “desirous of diplomacy” to end the crisis but remains ready to exact severe sanctions against Russia. Stoltenberg said NATO was “stepping up” in the eastern flank of the alliance.