WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will visit Europe in a week for a three-nation trip, including a NATO summit, focused on reinforcing the international coalition support for Ukraine as it continues a counteroffensive operation against Russia.
Biden is set to depart on 9 July for UK, and then head on to Vilnius, Lithuania for the NATO summit, followed by a one-day trip to Helsinki for discussions with his Nordic counterparts, the White House said on Sunday.
The NATO conference comes as the Western military grouping tries to admit Sweden, whose membership bid has been prevented by Turkiye and Hungary, and as Ukraine intensifies its drive to join amid Russia’s invasion.
Finland became a full member of NATO earlier this year.
Biden’s engagements before Europe visit
Before visiting Europe, the US president will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the NATO ambitions of Stockholm, AFP reported on Monday.
Sweden asked to join NATO in May 2022, three months after Russia attacked Ukraine. Top diplomats from Turkiye and Sweden will meet on Thursday, the day after Kristersson’s White House trip, at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Turkiye ultimately dropped objections to Finland joining the group earlier in the year.
But Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week denounced Stockholm for allowing a protest during which a man burned pages from the holy Koran. On Sunday, the Swedish government termed the incident “Islamophobic.”
