London: US Vice President Joe Biden touched down in London late on Sunday to begin a three-nation tour that will include meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and a conversation with King Charles III about climate change on Monday at Windsor Castle.
The trip was intended, according to the White House, "to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations."
The president will visit Downing Street on Monday for a low-key meeting with Sunak, their fifth in as many months, after arriving at Stansted airport in the northeast of London late on Sunday. The discussions will probably touch on the upcoming NATO summit and Ukraine, according to Sunak's spokesperson.
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Our alliances are more crucial than ever as we face brand-new, unanticipated threats to our economic and physical security, Sunak said in a statement issued by his office.
"The UK is Europe's leading NATO ally, we are the United States' most important trade, defence, and diplomatic partner, and we are at the forefront of providing Ukraine with the support they need to succeed on the battlefield," said Sunak, a California native who attended Stanford University and who owns a penthouse in Santa Monica, in the state's southern region.
Since Boris Johnson and Liz Truss' tough stance on a post-Brexit deal with the European Union and Johnson's closer ties to the Russian government caused the relationship to cool under them, Sunak has made some progress in mending fences with Biden.
The more public portion of Biden's trip will be his meeting with King Charles at Windsor Castle, which is located to the west of London and was the venue for Democratic President Barack Obama's state visit in 2016 and Donald Trump's visit in 2018.
In 2021, Biden had tea with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor. The US national anthem will be played as a guard of honour gives a Royal Salute and the king receives Biden in the quadrangle of the castle, according to the king's office.
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The king and the president will talk about climate change, a topic on which Charles, 74, has advocated and spoken out for more than 50 years.
Biden praised Charles' leadership on the issue when they first met at the COP26 UN climate summit in Scotland two years ago, telling him, "We need you badly."
Charles responded, "You are very kind for saying that. Biden had a chance encounter with Charles at a reception while in London last year to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, but in keeping with US presidents' custom, he skipped the coronation in May.
John Kerry, the US's special envoy for climate change, told the BBC that he had been asked to inform the king and Biden about a climate finance conference that he and the British energy minister Grant Shapps were scheduled to host on Monday.
After the meeting, Biden and Sunak will fly from Britain to Lithuania for a crucial summit of NATO leaders. After that, Biden will probably fly to Helsinki to meet with the Nordic leaders.
On Monday night, Biden will continue his journey to Vilnius, Lithuania, where he will meet with the heads of NATO on Tuesday and Wednesday. Biden and the NATO allies want to show their support for Ukraine and give Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of that country, an idea of what needs to be done in order for Ukraine to join NATO in the future.
In a pre-trip interview with CNN, Biden urged caution for the time being in regards to Ukraine's efforts to join NATO, warning that the alliance might become involved in the conflict with Russia due to NATO's mutual defence pact.
In the midst of a war, Biden said, "I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now."
According to Zelensky, inviting Ukraine to join NATO would demonstrate that the Western defence alliance is not intimidated by Moscow. In an interview that was broadcast on Sunday, Zelensky stated that one of his objectives in Vilnius would be to ensure that Ukraine receives clear security guarantees while it is outside of NATO.
On ABC's "This Week," Zelensky said, "I'll be there and I'll be doing whatever I can to, so to speak, expedite that solution, to have an agreement with our partners."
The agenda in Vilnius will include Sweden's membership in NATO, whose admission to the alliance has been thwarted by both Turkey and Hungary. All current NATO members must vote in unison to approve new members.
In a phone conversation with Erdogan, Biden raised Sweden's NATO application and "conveyed his desire to welcome Sweden into NATO as soon as possible," according to a statement from the White House on Sunday. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Sweden views as a terrorist organisation and which continues to hold protests there, has supporters, and Erdogan told Biden that Sweden must do more to contain these supporters, according to Erdogan's office.
The speech that Biden will give at Vilnius University on Wednesday night will serve as the highlight of his trip to Lithuania.
According to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden will discuss his vision of "a strong, confident America flanked by strong, confident allies and partners taking on the significant challenges of our time, from Russia's aggression in Ukraine to the climate crisis."
As he runs for re-election, one of Biden's goals is to demonstrate to Americans at home the significance of maintaining support for Ukraine. His Republican opponents who are vying for the presidency in November 2024 have expressed scepticism about his plan.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted late last month, substantial majorities of Americans favour arming Ukraine to defend itself against Russia and think that doing so shows China and other US adversaries that the US is willing to defend its allies and interests.
Concerns about Biden's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine were expressed by some Democratic lawmakers on Sunday. Numerous bomblets are released by the artillery shells, wreaking havoc over a large area, and unexploded ordnance can be dangerous for decades.
The national security adviser for the White House, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Sunday that Ukraine had promised in writing that it would not use cluster bombs in Russia or in populated areas.
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Helsinki will be Biden's final stop, where he will meet with the Finland's government and take part in a summit of US and Nordic leaders. Finland is the newest NATO member.