Joe Biden left for the UK with a message to Vladimir Putin and China: ‘The US and the EU are close allies’

USA President , Joe BidenHe left Washington on Wednesday Heading to the UK, the first stage of a A European tour full of peaks, especially the G7 meeting, before their highly anticipated first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

Before taking off on Air Force One, Biden confirmed it His goal of the trip will be “to make it clear to Putin and China that Europe and the United States are close allies.”

Biden took off from Andrews Base, outside Washington, on Air Force One before 9 a.m. local time, 14 GMT, accompanied by his wife, first lady Jill Biden.

The US President’s plane is scheduled to land tonight in Cornwall, where he will meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday before participating, starting Friday, in the three-day G7 summit.

But before Cornwall, Biden will first stop in the UK, at Mildenhall base, where he will address US forces there.

Recovering from the epidemic, combating the climate crisis or China’s dominance are some of the topics that will be on the meeting’s agenda. Of this group the elite of the most industrialized countries (USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan).

The next stop on Biden’s trip will be Brussels, where he will attend the June 14 summit OTAN with the purpose of “Reaffirming America’s CommitmentWith NATO.

A day later, he will express his commitment to European allies at a meeting between the United States and the European Union (EU), which will focus on the security of the global health system, stimulating economic recovery and combating climate change.

Finally, he will travel to Geneva (Switzerland), where On June 16, he will hold his long-awaited meeting with PutinIt is the first between the two since Biden came to the White House.

The United States has said it seeks a “predictable relationship with Russia” and intends to lower the temperature between the two countries, which is marked by differences over Ukraine’s sovereignty and a wave of alleged cyber attacks from Russian territory.

“My trip to Europe is an opportunity for the United States to mobilize the world’s democraciesBiden emphasized earlier, repeating since coming to power that the United States is back (“America is back”) and intends to participate fully in world affairs.

However, after Donald Trump’s tenure, “allies will receive these reassuring words with little skepticism,” says Susan Maloney of the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington. He writes: “Biden’s willingness to reconnect with them must overcome not only the scars of the past four years, but also lingering questions about the health of American democracy.”

The White House is under fire for its delay in sharing COVID-19 vaccines with the rest of the world, and it is now trying to take the lead in this matter. “The United States is committed to working on international fortification with the same sense of urgency that we have shown at home,” Biden said.

Washington just announced that 75% of the 80 million doses of vaccines promised to foreign countries by the end of June will be distributed through the Covax delivery system. The latter was created to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines, especially in low-income countries.

The summit with Putin will be the culmination of this first trip, which comes at a time when Biden is struggling at home, with tensions among his ranks of Democrats.

On issues such as Ukraine, Belarus, the fate of imprisoned Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, and cyber attacks, the discussions are expected to be tough and difficult.

The White House, exchanging conciliatory messages and warnings, insists its expectations are modest. The only advanced goal is to make relations between the two countries more “stable and predictable”.

(with information from the EFE and AFP)

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