In key foreign policy speech, Biden says he’s leaving Trump a ‘very strong hand to play’

US President said his efforts to strengthen Nato, and supporting Ukraine and Israel were his administration’s main achievements

US President Joe Biden began his final week in office by delivering an address from the State Department describing his administration's foreign policy milestones over the past four years, including in the Middle East.

Monday's wide-ranging remarks summed up Mr Biden's efforts to restore American alliances and global leadership after taking over from former president Donald Trump, who will be sworn in again on January 20.

"It's clear my administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play, leaving them with an America with more friends, stronger alliances," Mr Biden said.

The departing President's foreign policy legacy will partly be defined by what comes next under Mr Trump, particularly whether he continues to support Ukraine's defence against Russia.

Mr Biden, 82, discussed his attempts to broker a ceasefire and hostage-detainee swap in Gaza, and spoke about how he secured a truce agreement between Hezbollah and Israel. He also discussed the Middle East.

"Israel did plenty of damage to Iran and its proxies, but there's no question, our actions contributed to it significantly," Mr Biden said. "Now, major authoritarian states are aligning more closely with one another – Iran, Russia, China, North Korea – but that's more out of weakness than out of strength."

He said that the US today is in a "fundamentally stronger position with respect to these countries" and on a better strategic footing for long-term competition with China.

Where Mr Biden worked closely with traditional US allies, Mr Trump advanced what he called an “America first” philosophy. He withdrew America from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as the Iran nuclear deal.

He also frequently insisted Nato allies pay more towards the alliance and sought closer relations with Russia, though many of his administration's policies were hostile to the Kremlin.

Mr Trump's administration also brokered the Abraham Accords, in which the UAE and Bahrain established relations with Israel. Other nations have followed suit.

Mr Biden hoped to build on that effort by reaching a similar agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. However, the aim stalled amid Israel's war on Gaza that followed the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the incoming administration will be inheriting a stronger US that is better positioned in the world.

"It's been an action-packed four years," Mr Sullivan told reporters. "If you take stock of where America stands today, I believe deeply that the incoming administration is starting with a very strong US, as we pass the baton to our successor."

A small group of anti-war demonstrators gathered as the President's motorcade arrived at the State Department.

Mr Biden said a ceasefire deal in Gaza was on the brink of "finally coming to fruition" and that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday and would talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi "soon."

Earlier on Monday, Mr Sullivan said a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza could come "this week".

"We are close to it, and it can get done this week," he said. "I'm not making a promise or a prediction, but it's there for the taking and we're waiting for it to make that happen."

Mr Biden has faced international and domestic criticism for his unequivocal support of Israel, even as the death toll in Gaza has exceeded 46,500 people.

More than a year into an Israeli military campaign on Gaza, much of the coastal enclave has been reduced to rubble. The majority of residents have been displaced with little to no access to medical care, food or shelter. Months of US efforts to mediate a ceasefire and secure the release of hostages held in Gaza have stalled.

In Monday's speech, Mr Biden discussed his decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan, ending two decades of war.

"I’m the first president in decades to not hand over the war in Afghanistan to his successor," Mr Biden said. "When I took office I had a choice to keep thousands of servicemen in Afghanistan. In my view it was time to end the war and bring our troops home, and we did."

America's withdrawal from the country in August 2021 drew broad condemnation, particularly after 13 US personnel were killed in a bombing at Kabul airport.

When he took office in 2017, Mr Biden delivered a similar speech from the State Department, vowing to restore America's place in the world.

“America is back. America is back,” he said. “Diplomacy is back at the centre of our foreign policy.”

He sought to overturn antagonism with Nato allies and de-escalated the trade war with China under Mr Trump, which led to a retaliatory increase in tariffs.

Mr Biden led a coalition of 50 nations to support Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022 and was in office as the Nato alliance grew to 32 members. He has authorised more than $60 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, bolstering its military's capabilities against Russia's offensive.

Mr Trump has vowed to end the war quickly once in office, raising concerns he will cut off US military aid, forcing Ukraine to make territorial concessions.

Monday's speech is one of several events marking Mr Biden's final week in office, ending more than 50 years of public service. His responsibilities will officially end on January 20, during Mr Trump's second inauguration and the ceremonial transfer of power.

He had announced he would not run for a second term in July after a disastrous debate with Mr Trump led to concerns over his age and his ability to handle another four years in office. He nominated Vice President Kamala Harris to run instead, but she lost to Mr Trump.

Mr Biden's foreign policy speech was supposed to have been delivered after a trip to Italy to meet the Pope, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

But he cancelled the trip to focus on the wildfires in Los Angeles. Mr Biden is due to give a farewell address to the American people from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening.