© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Mexico City, Mexico December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo
DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said it was “critically important” that the United States make good on its promises to support Ukraine, and said failing to do so would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and others to attack other innocent democratic countries.
Yellen, speaking to reporters during a visit to Detroit to tout the Biden administration’s economic gains, blasted former President Donald Trump’s comment over the weekend calling into question U.S. willingness to support members of the Western defense alliance if they were attacked.
“I consider those remarks to be highly irresponsible,” Yellen said, adding that she had spoken with foreign officials in recent days and they understood that President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of lawmakers were supportive of NATO and Ukraine.