President Joe Biden will travel to Europe next week for meetings with other world leaders amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Biden will travel to Brussels for a NATO summit next Thursday, March 24. He will also participate in a European Council meeting.
The trip is expected to be one of the most closely watched visits to Europe taken by an American president in decades. The meetings will take place one month after Russia first invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked attack on its neighboring nation.
According to the White House, Biden will discuss ongoing efforts in deterrence and defense during the summit and will reaffirm the commitment by the United States to its allies in NATO.
Biden will also join a scheduled European Council summit in discussions of shared concerns about Ukraine. Part of this summit will focus on efforts being made by Western countries to press Russia economically, as well as needed humanitarian support and other challenges.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted on Tuesday that an extraordinary Summit was being convened for next week at the headquarters in order to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO’s strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense efforts. Stoltenberg said that at this critical time, Europe and North America needed to continue to stand together.
Western unity is something that Biden and allied leaders are aiming to illustrate, especially in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of a country within Eastern Europe.
Several top U.S. officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have also made recent visits for diplomatic efforts.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Zelensky will virtually address members of Congress.
In the most recent phone call between counterparts Biden and Zelensky, Zelensky pressed the U.S. president for more sanctions and to ramp up efforts to cut Russia off from trade as well as target the elite of the country. He has also called for a no-fly zone to be established over Ukraine, but that appears to not be on the table quite yet. Therefore, the most likely outcome of next week’s meeting will be more sanctions, financial aid, and humanitarian aid.
Be the first to comment