Biden to meet with allies in Germany, Spain amid Ukraine war
FILE - President Joe Biden is greeted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as he arrives for meetings with NATO allies about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on March 24, 2022, in Brussels. Finland appears on the cusp of joining NATO. Sweden could follow suit. By year's end, they could stand among the alliance's ranks. Russia's war in Ukraine has provoked a public about face on membership in the two Nordic countries. They are already NATO's closest partners, but should Russia respond to their membership moves they might soon need the organization's military support. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will meet with allies in Germany and Spain in late June as he tries to hold together the fragile coalition opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The White House announced Wednesday that Biden will travel to southern Germany on June 25 to attend a Group of Seven summit of leaders of the world’s major industrialized nations. After the meeting in the Bavarian Alps, the president will go to Madrid on June 28 to participate in a gathering of NATO member countries.
The twin summits are being held around the four-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and as the United States and its allies are being urged to send longer-range and more advanced weaponry to Ukraine as Moscow looks to consolidate its gains in the country’s east.
Biden’s efforts to impose and sustain crippling sanctions on Russia are also facing renewed threat amid rising global inflation and supply shocks to the energy and food markets. The president also wants to secure admission to the NATO alliance for Sweden and Finland, but first must help overcome opposition from NATO member Turkey.
The G-7 members are the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Leaders will discuss their support for Ukraine, climate change, global health security, and the food and energy crisis worsened by Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
NATO leaders are set to endorse plans to guide the alliance’s transformation over the next decade, including strengthening deterrence and defense, addressing transnational threats such as cyber and climate, and deepening partnerships with democratic partners in Europe and Asia, she said.
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