Biden will appear in Europe... at the critical moment of the Ukrainian crisis Ukraine | Europe | Biden

The White House announced on July 2nd that US President Biden will visit three European countries from July 9th to 13th. During this time, Biden will meet with British leaders, attend NATO summits in Lithuania, and meet with Nordic leaders in Finland. The public opinion generally believes that Biden's visit is aimed at promoting NATO's coordinated response to the Ukrainian crisis.

First stop to comfort close friends

The White House stated on the same day that Biden's first stop on this trip will be in the UK. During this period, he will meet with King Charles III of England and Prime Minister Sunak to further strengthen the close relationship between the two countries.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace stated on the same day that King Charles III will meet with Biden at Windsor Castle on July 10th.

This will be the first time since Charles III was crowned king in May that Biden has met with this British monarch. In recent years, the relationship between the UK and the US has become somewhat delicate. On the one hand, Biden attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the mother of Charles III, in the UK last year. Before Charles III was crowned king, he had multiple contacts with Biden.

On the other hand, Biden seems to have the suspicion of "neglecting" Britain, especially considering the negative impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland, which has caused concern for the Biden administration. There are still profound differences in the economic and trade fields between the UK and the US.

In May of this year, Biden himself was absent from Charles III's coronation ceremony and instead sent First Lady Gill to attend. In April, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Agreement pushed by the United States, Biden went to the UK and Ireland, but did not meet with Charles III, only briefly with Sunak. Biden later stated that his trip was to ensure that "the British did not act recklessly.".

Against this backdrop, Sunak visited the United States for two days last month and held talks with Biden on issues such as the Ukrainian crisis. This is Sunak's first official visit to the United States since taking office.

At that time, both sides also issued the Atlantic Declaration after the meeting, announcing that they would strengthen cooperation in areas such as technology, economy, energy, and defense to establish a new type of innovation partnership.

Downing Street said that since the beginning of this year, the two countries have conducted a series of bilateral visits and talks, and Biden's upcoming trip to the UK is built on this foundation, "reflecting the strong relationship between the UK and the US.". In addition, Sunak looks forward to welcoming President Biden in the UK this month.

However, British public opinion still seems to have not felt Biden's emphasis on the UK. According to Sky News, Biden's trip to the UK was "noticeably short".

But some argue that Biden's arrival could provide Sunak with a breathing space - after experiencing a series of domestic setbacks, he can at least temporarily focus on diplomacy. Recently, the UK economy has still been plagued by high inflation, rising interest rates, and the threat of recession.

In addition, the UK Court of Appeal recently overturned previous court rulings, ruling that the UK government's plan to pay for the deportation of illegal immigrants to Rwanda is illegal; The UK water industry is deeply embroiled in pollution scandals... all of them have become a dark cloud over Downing Street.

Attend two consecutive summits

After his trip to the UK, Biden will attend the 74th NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius from July 11th to 12th, and attend the US Nordic Leaders Summit in Helsinki, Finland on July 13th. It is expected that the Ukrainian crisis will become the main topic of these two summits.

Attending the NATO summit can be said to be the highlight of Biden's trip. The public has noticed that Biden's visit to Europe coincides with the second year of the Ukrainian crisis and another critical moment.

The Washington Post reported on June 30th that during a recent secret visit to Kiev, CIA Director Burns listened to Ukraine's plan to reclaim territories occupied by Russia this autumn and then engage in ceasefire negotiations with Russia before the end of the year.

It is expected that at the upcoming NATO summit, leaders of NATO member countries will reiterate their continued support for Ukraine.

Another major issue is the process of Sweden's accession to NATO. Sweden and Finland both applied to join NATO in May last year. Finland was officially approved to join NATO in April, but Türkiye and Hungary have not yet officially approved Sweden to join.

At present, all parties are stepping up efforts to persuade Türkiye and Hungary to approve Sweden to join this military alliance. However, the recent domestic demonstrations in Sweden once again made Türkiye strongly dissatisfied, adding uncertainty to Sweden's "accession" road.

Before embarking on his trip to Europe, Biden is scheduled to meet with Swedish Prime Minister Christsson at the White House on July 5th, and it is expected that Sweden's accession to NATO will become a major issue.

Kiev craves an "invitation letter"

Ukraine, like Sweden, also hopes to join NATO as soon as possible. On July 1st, Ukrainian President Zelensky reiterated his desire to join the NATO summit and hoped to receive an invitation letter.

"At the Vilnius summit, we need a very clear and understandable signal that Ukraine can become an equal member of NATO after the war," Zelensky said at a press conference with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez. "Being invited to join NATO is the first and very practical step, which is very important for us."

However, The Washington Post mentioned the differences and discord between Ukraine and the West. On the one hand, the United States and Western European countries have a cold attitude towards Ukraine's strong demand for joining NATO and the European Union, fearing that this will exacerbate the risk of direct military conflict between Russia and the West. Therefore, they are more inclined to provide long-term security assistance to Ukraine rather than accepting Ukraine as a NATO member.

On the other hand, the US military leadership hopes that Ukraine will accelerate its ongoing counterattack against Russia, but Ukraine complains that Western countries have not provided sufficient ammunition and advanced weapons such as fighter jets in a timely manner. In this context, NATO has many issues that require coordination.