Biden makes a surprise visit to London on the eve of the North Atlantic alliance summit

American President Joe Biden is making a brief visit to the United Kingdom, his country's closest ally in Europe, where he will meet King Charles III on Monday and discuss support for Ukraine with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, before participating in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Vilnius.

Arriving in London Sunday evening, Biden will meet Sunak at Downing Street and then King Charles III at Windsor Castle. This visit aims to reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two nations.

Before this trip, the White House indicated that Biden wishes to "strengthen his strong relationship" with the United Kingdom, while Downing Street views the American President's visit as an "affirmation of strong relations" between the United States and the UK.

Although Sunak and Biden have met five times in recent months, the American President's absence from King Charles III's coronation, which First Lady Jill Biden attended on his behalf in May, and his criticisms of London's handling of the Northern Ireland situation post-Brexit, have stirred controversy in the UK.

However, during the British Prime Minister's visit to Washington last month, Biden assured that America has "no closer ally" than the UK. The two leaders had discussed the situation in Ukraine, established a new economic partnership without a free trade agreement, and talked about issues related to artificial intelligence development.

At the royal residence in Windsor Castle, west of London, the American President will have tea with Charles III. Primarily, they will discuss environmental issues, a subject close to the king's heart, according to the White House. They will especially focus on the outcomes of the Climate Financing Forum for developing countries, where US Special Climate Envoy, John Kerry, is participating.

This will be the first meeting between them since the king's coronation. Biden and his wife Jill had previously attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on September 8.

Support for Ukraine -

 

This visit comes two days after the controversial US decision to provide cluster munitions to Kyiv, a move prohibited by most NATO members. Much like the confusing reactions of European allies, Sunak pointed out on Saturday that his country signed the 2008 Oslo Convention banning the production and use of these weapons and "does not encourage" their use.
"We will continue to do our part in supporting Ukraine," he added. However, he emphasized that London is the second largest provider of military aid to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began.

Thus, Biden and Sunak need to discuss the conflict on the eve of the crucial NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, where Ukraine hopes to receive new commitments for weapon delivery and make tangible progress in its process of joining the alliance.

However, the Democratic President downplayed Kyiv's hopes on this issue.

He told CNN, "I don't think it's ready to be part of NATO."

After the London and NATO summits in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, Biden will head to Finland to meet with Northern leaders.

 

AFP