US President Joe Biden will visit Europe next week to attend a NATO summit in Brussels, convened in response to Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, and meet with EU leaders to discuss sanctions on Moscow, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.
Next Thursday, Biden will be joining the NATO leaders in Brussels (Belgium) “discuss ongoing deterrence defense efforts” and “reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies,”Psaki spoke to reporters during a conference.
The meeting was convened in response to Russia’s ongoing military offensive in Ukraine. On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the Ukrainian conflict had given rise to an international crisis. “new security reality”NATO should prepare Europe by increasing its defense spending and placing more troops there.
Biden “will also join a scheduled European Council summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support…and address other challenges related to the conflict,”Psaki added.
Both the US and EU have heavily sanctioned Russia, imposing penalties on Russian leaders and businesspeople, cutting the country off from the SWIFT banking network, and in Biden’s case, stopping all Russian energy imports.
The visit will mark Biden’s first trip to Europe since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. Kamala Harris, Vice President, visited Eastern Europe last Wednesday, and Tony Blinken, Secretary of State, visited Belgium, Poland Moldova, Moldova, and the Baltic States at the start of the month.
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