Long accused of weakness vis-à-vis Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden, who recently called him a “war criminal”, is starting a vast diplomatic offensive this week on the war in Ukraine, with a view to organizes the NATO summit on Thursday in Brussels and its visit to Poland on Friday, where more than two million Ukrainian refugees have already arrived.
“He is not expected to go to Ukraine”
“This week, President Joseph R. Biden will travel to Poland after meeting with our NATO allies, G7 leaders and European Union leaders in Brussels to discuss international efforts to support Ukraine and impose severe and unprecedented costs on Russia for its invasion,” the White House announced overnight. On Friday in Warsaw, “he will hold a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda. The President will discuss how the United States, alongside its allies and partners, responds to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unwarranted and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created,” the statement continues.
However, “he is not expected to go to Ukraine,” detailed his press secretary Jen Psaki on Twitter.
In early March, during his visit to Poland, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefly crossed the border after his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart. More recently, last Tuesday, the Polish, Czech and Slovenian Prime Ministers traveled to kyiv as a sign of support and to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Earlier in the week, Joe Biden will participate in the extraordinary NATO summit devoted to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on Thursday, as well as, on the same day in Brussels, the G7 meeting and the European Council summit.
Joe Biden will meet in particular with Emmanuel Macron this Monday
NATO has been accused of having encouraged Vladimir Putin in his plans to invade Ukraine by announcing from the start that it would not send troops there. “There is no question of deploying NATO troops or planes in Ukraine”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed on Wednesday after a meeting of defense ministers. of the Alliance. On the other hand, he pleaded for a reinforcement of his military presence on his eastern flank.
This Monday, ahead of the summit, Joe Biden will also meet with four European heads of state: Emmanuel Macron, but also German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.