Biden skips coronation and arrives in London to meet with King Charles

president Joe Biden landed on London Since starting the trip late Sunday to ease ties after missing King Charles’ coronation, NATO The summit in the face of backlash over the transfer of deadly new weapons to Ukraine.

This was only part of his journey, and while the White House telegraphed that the signing event was a speech in Vilnius about maintaining a uniform stance against Russian aggression in Ukraine, the president It must overcome diplomatic divisions over the status of Ukraine and Sweden. Each seeks to join a powerful military alliance.

Biden said CNN In an interview broadcast on departure, Ukraine said it was “not ready to join” NATO.

“At this moment in the middle of the war, I don’t think there was unanimity within NATO on whether to add Ukraine to NATO or not,” he said.

He noted that while the war is raging inside Ukraine, NATO members are committed to every inch of each other’s territory.

“If war continues, we are all at war,” he said.

He said he spent a lot of time maintaining the alliance and was convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to destroy it.

“So it’s very important to have NATO united,” Biden said.

Biden and his allies face tough questions about Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned in an ABC interview that delays in providing the necessary weapons would result in “more loss of life” will do.

After Biden gave the go-ahead for cluster munitions, Zelensky wants the F-16 fighter jets delivered quickly. The move has drawn backlash from allies and even senior Democratic lawmakers.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Virginia) said he was “genuinely concerned” by Biden’s move to send widely banned weapons to the Kiev military.

“It could give other countries the green light to do something different,” he said. fox news.

Britain, Spain, Canada and New Zealand all condemned the move to send widely banned munitions to the war-torn country, with British Prime Minister Rishi Snak saying they would “block their use”.

Months after sending First Lady Jill Biden to attend the coronation of Prince Charles, the president arrived at London’s Stansted Airport. The remarks came after he said at a May fundraiser that he had previously visited Northern Ireland “to make sure the British people didn’t fail” in the peace process.

white house press secretary Carine Jean Pierre On Friday, he dodged questions about why he decided not to attend the coronation and why the visit was believed to be a downgrade of the planned state visit.

The White House emphasized that Mr Biden will also visit Prime Minister Rishi Snak, his sixth visit with a conservative prime minister in six months.

The White House has released only a handful of Mr. Biden’s schedules.

After meeting Mr Snack at 10 Downing Street (his first as president), Mr Biden will attend an arrival ceremony at Windsor Castle, where he will review members of the Royal Guard.

Then, after traveling in a convoy of several cars, he will attend a conference called “Climate Engagement” with the king, philanthropists and investors.Before the sun sets, he will leave London for Vilnius to attend a high-stakes NATO summit.

The alliance is already split over the recognition of the new Sweden after Finland joined in April following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Standing out is Turkey, where Sweden has complained that it has not done enough to crack down on the PKK, an organization it considers a terrorist.

“I hope so. Actually, I’m optimistic,” Biden said.

With Turkish and Swedish leaders scheduled to meet in Vilnius on Monday, Biden suggested a possible solution could be to upgrade Turkey’s fighter jets.

“Turkey is looking to modernize its F-16 aircraft, and Mitsotakis from Greece is also asking for help. It’s a bit of a consortium, to strengthen NATO in terms of Greek and Turkish military strength and allow Sweden to join.It’s … in play.

Mr. Biden has also faced pushback from allies for his decision to turn to Ukraine in a defensive war against Russia and supply cluster munitions.

“Ukrainians are running out of ammunition,” Biden said in an interview filmed on the day the administration described the weapon as a “bridge.” Many allies have banned ammunition, but the US and Ukraine are not among them.

Biden will make his final visit to Helsinki, Finland, where he will send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and welcome new members to the alliance. He will meet with President Sauli Niinist and other Nordic leaders.