A quick visit to view a “solid” relationship. On the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius (Lithuania), the US President Joe Biden And he met Charles III At Windsor Castle – for the first time since the new accession to the British throne.
After a warm handshake with the monarch, the 80-year-old head of state was greeted with a guard of honor and listened, holding hands, to the American anthem played by the Welsh Guards. Then the two men isolated themselves to talk about the environment, according to the US presidency, a topic that the king has been engaged in for a long time and for which the US president has “great respect”, he explained on board Air Force One. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
And it was notable that Joe Biden and Charles III took into account the conclusions of a forum on climate finance in developing countries, in which the US special envoy for climate John Kerry took part.
“solid as rock”
Earlier today, Joe Biden spent 40 minutes with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Downing Street Gardens. The US President praised the “strong” relationship between the two countries. “I couldn’t meet a closer friend and greater ally,” he said. The US and UK are “two of the strongest allies” within NATO, boasted Rishi Sunak, for whom it was the sixth meeting with Joe Biden. The two leaders agreed on the need to “strengthen” NATO and “continue to support Ukraine” until it achieves a “just and lasting peace” against a Russian invasion, according to the Downing Street report.
The two leaders did not mention the American announcement two days ago. For the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine, controversial and banned in many NATO countries. The decision was greeted with embarrassment across the channel. “The United Kingdom is a signatory to an agreement that prohibits the production and use of cluster munitions and discourages their use,” said Rishi Sunak on Saturday.
The NATO summit is busy
On Air Force One, before Joe Biden arrived in London, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reduced the difference in views between Washington and London to a mere “legal” position. He said that the United Kingdom “is a signatory to the Oslo Accords, and the United States is not.” He emphasized that Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak are “on the same page strategically over Ukraine”.
Joe Biden’s brief stay in the UK comes on the eve of the important NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Ukraine hopes to receive new promises of arms deliveries. On the question of Kiev’s future membership in the coalition, Joe Biden has been firm: “I don’t think she’s ready to join NATO.”He said in an interview on CNN.
Another central theme: Sweden’s membership to date banned by Türkiye Which berates Stockholm for alleged leniency towards Kurdish militants, whom Ankara deems terrorists. “First, we will pave the way for Turkey to join the European Union, and then we will pave the way for Sweden, just as we paved the way for Finland,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
Negotiations between Türkiye and the European Union stalled several years ago. The European Commission had estimated at the end of 2020 that they were “at an impasse” due to decisions taken by Ankara that run counter to the interests of the European Union, particularly with regard to human rights.
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