US President Joe Biden began a four-day tour of Europe on Sunday which will include the NATO summit in Lithuaniavisits to the UK and Finland, as well as endless meetings with leaders from around the world.
However, the person who will monopolize Biden’s attention will be another: his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to whom he wants to make it clear that the United States is back and that its alliances -especially with Ukraine- they are stronger than ever.
This was explained in a press conference prior to the trip by the White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, who defined the European tour as an opportunity to demonstrate that the United States. has regained its “global status as a strong partner and trustworthy for peace, progress and security”.
“This trip will reflect that we have made progress and will serve to demonstrate the leadership of the president in the international arena,” Sullivan stressed.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022 will be the main item on the agenda, at a time when kyiv demands greater security guarantees from NATO against Russia and after Putin had to deal with the failed rebellion of the Wagner paramilitary group.
Biden’s agenda
Biden’s tour will take place between July 9 and 13 and will start in London, from where he will go to Vilnius to participate in the NATO leaders’ summit and end in Helsinki, in a historic stop to demonstrate Washington’s commitment to the new member of the Atlantic alliance.
Biden’s agenda in London will start on the morning of Monday, July 10 with a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
It will be the fifth meeting between Biden and Sunak, who have met at numerous international summits in recent months, and whose objective will be address some of the central issues of the NATO summit in LithuaniaAmanda Sloat, Biden’s main adviser for Europe, detailed in another press conference.
Specifically on the table will be Ukraine’s requests to join NATO and the progress of the counteroffensive that kyiv launched in early June to recover the areas occupied by Russia, Sloat added.
After the meeting with Sunak, Biden will meet King Charles III at Windsor Castlein what will be the first meeting between the two since the monarch was crowned in May of this year.
The last time the US president and the then-Prince of Wales saw each other was in November 2021 during the COP26 climate summit held in the Scottish city of Glasgow.
After spending the day in London, on the 10th, Biden will head to the Lithuanian city of Vilnius. to participate in the NATO leaders’ summitwhich will take place on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 July.
As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Friday, the members will agree at their summit on various measures to “bring Ukraine closer” to the Atlantic Alliance, but they will not propose its entry.
NATO summit
Specifically, NATO leaders will prove a new military assistance package to help Ukrainian forces acquire more modern equipment and will create a new forum for consultations with Ukraine called the NATO-Ukraine Council, in an attempt to enhance political ties with kyiv.
The most difficult thing is being to unify positions within NATO to reflect the commitment to the eventual entry of Ukrainebut without leaving empty promises.
According to sources from the military alliance, the idea is that the language of the final communique of the summit make progress compared to the one used at the 2008 Bucharest summit, when the allies said both Ukraine and Georgia would become NATO members, but failed to specify a timetable for it.
The final touch to the NATO summit will be put by Biden with what the White House has defined as a “big speech” on the defense of democracy and the West’s support for Ukraine.
On the same night of July 12, Biden will travel to Finland to meet the next day with the leaders of the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark).
This It will be the third summit between the US and the leaders of the Nordic countries. The most recent occurred in 2016 when then-President Barack Obama (2008-2017) received the rulers of those nations at the White House, Sloan explained.
Finland it became ril this year in the thirty-first full member of NATO after completing the membership process requested as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sweden made the request at the same time as Finland, but its plication has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.
EFE Agency
bp
Source: Clarin
