Biden to discuss Ukraine war with European leaders
18/10/2024 6:11
U.S. President Joe
Biden took off for Berlin on Thursday for a short visit to
discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the leaders of
Germany, France and Britain as Kyiv urges its Western allies to
take immediate action to end the fighting.
The conflict in the Middle East is also expected to be high
on the agenda in talks between the leaders, as the Biden
administration hopes Israel's killing of Hamas official Yahya
Sinwar could bring a ceasefire in Gaza closer to fruition.
Biden had originally been scheduled to convene a broader
meeting of Ukraine's military supporters at the U.S. Ramstein
Air Base in Germany last week during a planned three-day state
visit to the country that would have been the first in nearly 40
years.
He canceled that trip to focus on dealing with Hurricane
Milton but is making up for it with the quick visit this
week. The Ramstein meeting will be held virtually in November,
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard
Air Force One.
The president now will land late on Thursday in Berlin and
hold bilateral talks on Friday morning with Germany's president
and chancellor, before a planned meeting with the leaders of
Germany, France and Britain.
Biden has had a close working relationship with German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the trip is seen in part as a nod to
that partnership before the president leaves office in January.
His trip comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
toured western capitals to present his "victory plan" to end
Russia's more than 2-1/2-year-old invasion as Moscow's forces
advance in the east and a bleak winter of power cuts looms.
"The situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, the trajectory
of the war, how allies can best support Ukraine will be a
subject of conversation," a senior U.S. administration official
said before the trip about the meeting with European leaders.
Next month's U.S. presidential election is adding to the
sense of urgency about Ukraine, given uncertainty about how both
presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris, the
Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the
Republican nominee, would handle the war.
"Germany and the United States are the biggest supporters of
Ukraine in defence of its sovereignty and integrity and its
democracy. And we will continue to be so," Scholz told the
German parliament on Wednesday.
"But this is a time when, in addition to our clear support
for Ukraine, we must also do everything we can to find out how
we can ensure that this war does not go on forever, that it does
not continue to kill an unbelievable amount of women and men."
Zelenskiy says his plan, which would include an
unconditional invite for Ukraine to join NATO, aims to force the
Kremlin to negotiate in good faith.
The senior U.S. official said there was a discussion among
NATO allies about offering Ukraine an invitation to join, but
there was not a consensus to offer one. He noted the alliance
had affirmed in July that Ukraine was on an "irreversible path"
to membership. "The question is about the tactics of ... how to
encourage that path," he said.
Biden's trip also comes amid fears of a wider escalation of the
fighting in the Middle East into a full-scale conflict between
Israel and Iran. That issue would also be discussed at the
meeting, the U.S. official said.
The United States and Germany are close allies of Israel,
which has become increasingly isolated over its military
campaign in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza that local
authorities say has killed more than 42,000 people.
"We will not accept Iran attacking Israel with missiles,"
Scholz said on Wednesday. "That must not happen. There must be
no further destabilisation of the region. And Iran is playing
with fire. That must stop."
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