Washington: In a week, US Vice President Joe Biden will travel to three countries in Europe, including a NATO summit, with the goal of bolstering the international alliance supporting Ukraine as it pursues a counteroffensive against Russia.
The White House announced on Sunday that Biden will leave for Britain on July 9 before travelling to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, for the NATO summit and then spending one day there meeting with his Nordic counterparts.
The NATO summit takes place as the Western military alliance attempts to reopen negotiations with Sweden, whose application has been rejected by Turkey and Hungary, and as Ukraine ramps up its accession efforts in the wake of Russia's invasion.
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Finland joined the bloc as a full member earlier this year.
Biden will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the White House on Wednesday to discuss Stockholm's aspirations for NATO before departing for Europe.
Three months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in May 2022, Sweden submitted a request to join the military alliance. The day following Kristersson's visit to the White House, top diplomats from Sweden and Turkey will meet at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
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In the end, Turkey decided not to object to Finland joining earlier in the year.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, criticised Stockholm last week for allowing a protest in which a man burned pages from the Koran. Sunday, the Swedish government referred to the incident as "Islamophobic."
Sweden has been deemed to have fulfilled the requirements for joining the alliance set forth with Ankara last year, according to Stockholm and its allies in the West.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, stated on Saturday that he wanted his nation to receive a "invitation" to join NATO after the conflict with Moscow is resolved at the Vilnius summit.
Along with Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, he told reporters in Kyiv, "We need a very clear and understandable signal at the Vilnius summit that Ukraine can become an equal member of NATO after the war."
The first, most practical step would be to extend this invitation to the alliance, which would be crucial for us.
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For the first time since the king's coronation, Biden will meet with King Charles III at Windsor Castle during his visit to Britain. A month after his visit to Washington, Biden will also continue his discussions with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London.
According to the White House, Biden will try to "further strengthen the close relationship" with Britain. It also said that more information about the trip will be released soon.
According to a statement from Downing Street, the trip "reflects the strong relationship between the UK and US," and Sunak "looks forward to welcoming President Biden in the UK later this month."