This will be President Biden’s first meeting with King Charles since his coronation. The two men have met before, including at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland on November 2, 2021. Jane Barlow/AP hide caption
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Jane Barlow/AP
This will be President Biden’s first meeting with King Charles since his coronation. The two men have met before, including at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland on November 2, 2021.
Jane Barlow/AP
President Biden heads to the UK where she will meet King Charles at Windsor Castle on Monday to discuss a priority they both share: tackling climate change.
Biden and the king will discuss how to finance climate aid in developing countries most affected by climate change.
Biden will also meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, his sixth meeting since Sunak took office last October. The two leaders are expected to discuss, among other things, the war in Ukraine.
This stop in London is part of a five-day trip focused primarily on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Biden and other NATO leaders will meet in Vilnius, Lithuania starting Tuesday.
Biden has focused his foreign policy on rebuilding ties with allies, ties he has said were broken during the Trump administration.
President Biden, seen here at last year’s NATO summit in Madrid, will meet with other alliance leaders this week in Vilnius, Lithuania. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption
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Susan Walsh/AP
President Biden, seen here at last year’s NATO summit in Madrid, will meet with other alliance leaders this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Susan Walsh/AP
Sweden’s NATO membership is a key unresolved issue
Biden often points out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted two historically neutral countries to apply to join the alliance: Finland and Sweden.
But Sweden’s accession has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary has not signed either. It had been hoped that the issue could be resolved before the summit, but that does not seem likely.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Sweden is not doing enough to crack down on groups it considers terrorists. But experts say there are other issues at play as well.
“President Erdogan thought he could use this as a point of leverage,” said Sinan Ceddi, a member of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. “This has less to do with Sweden than it has to do with what it can get out of the United States, specifically the sale of arms.”
Fighter jets could become a currency
Erdogan has long wanted the United States to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. The Biden administration has made clear it supports the sale.
But the deal would have to be approved by Congress, where some lawmakers have voiced opposition, including Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. the president of the Foreign Relations Commission.
There is a growing sense in Washington that the F-16s could be a bargaining chip to get Sweden’s request across the finish line.
Biden and Erdogan, who have no particularity warm relationship: They are expected to talk during the summit, possibly during a meeting on the sidelines.
Biden will end his trip in Helsinki, Finland, to meet with Nordic leaders.
Ukraine also wants to join NATO, but the way forward is unclear
The issue of NATO expansion is not limited to Sweden. Ukraine is not a member of the military alliance, although it would like to be, and its future relationship with the alliance will be a key topic of conversation at the NATO summit in Lithuania.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters that Ukraine would still need to take “more steps” before it would be allowed to join.
“The United States, our NATO allies and Ukraine will have an opportunity to discuss the reforms that are still necessary to bring Ukraine up to NATO standards,” Sullivan said, previewing the summit from Vilnius.
