CNN — (CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky defended Joe Biden after the latter called him “President Putin,” calling it “a mistake.”
The US president accidentally referred to Zelensky as “President Putin” when introducing him at a NATO event on Thursday, before correcting the name moments later.
Although the US president – facing mounting pressure over whether he is fit enough to serve another term in office – played down the gaffe at a high-stakes news conference later in the day, the incident was scrutinised internationally.
Russian state media seized on Biden’s performance to further criticize the NATO alliance, saying he turned the event into “a farce.”
But when asked by reporters at Shannon Airport in Ireland on Saturday for his reaction to the blunder, Zelensky shrugged and said: “It was a mistake.”
“I think the United States has been very supportive of the Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think,” he continued.
The United States is providing Ukraine with much-needed military support in its war against Russia.
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new $2.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine, and said an additional $2.2 billion will be purchased for Ukraine from U.S. arms manufacturers under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which provides Kiev with long-term support.
Weeks earlier, the United States and Ukraine signed a bilateral security pact, which commits the United States to continue training the Ukrainian armed forces for ten years, as well as to provide more weapons support and intelligence sharing. Zelensky described the security pact at the time as “a bridge to Ukraine’s accession to NATO.”
In May, Biden also agreed to a request from Ukraine for a policy change, giving Ukraine permission to strike inside Russian territory near the border with Kharkiv with American munitions.
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