Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Lithuania deciding on Ukraine's membership, US President Joe Biden began his three-nation visit by landing in the United Kingdom, where he will meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III.
Biden is scheduled to meet Sunak at 10 Downing Street, where they will focus on Ukraine as the upcoming NATO meet will discuss how far should the alliance open the doors for Kyiv, AP reported. Ukraine's NATO membership bid has been the source of tensions, especially with Russia, and the precursor for launching the war between Moscow and Kyiv.
The US and the UK are among the most staunch supporters of Ukraine. However, the recent US decision to send cluster munitions to Kyiv as military aid has been received with unease with American allies, including the UK, Canada and New Zealand.
According to ANI, Ukraine's inclusion in the NATO, led by repeated appeals from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been met with reluctance from the US and Germany over welcoming a country at war with 'unfinished democratic reforms'.
The US President will also meet with King Charles at Windsor Castle, their first meeting since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II last year. Biden attended the late Queen's funeral but did not attend Charles' coronation in May, sending his wife Jill Biden instead. Their talks will focus on environmental issues.
Biden's next stop and the main focus of his visit is the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where they will also discuss Sweden's membership in the alliance. Hungary and Turkey are the two countries who have objected to the inclusion of Sweden in the NATO.
The summit will likely be used by the US to pressure Turkey into withdrawing its position on the NATO membership bid of Sweden, after Ankara accused Stockholm of being too indulgent of groups said to be a 'security danger'.
After the summit, Biden's final stop will be at Finland to commemorate the latter on joining the NATO in April and meet with Nordic leaders. Finland's inclusion has doubled the length of Russian border with NATO member states.
500 days of Russia-Ukraine war
As the Russian-Ukraine war entered its 500th day, any possibility of de-escalation of conflict between Moscow and Kyiv remain slim. Recently, another Russian shelling in Ukraine's Donetsk region resulted in eight casualties on Saturday.
Scores of missile attacks and intense fighting have resulted in the deaths of scores of civilians from both sides, along with massive civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a visit to Snake Island, thanked his soldiers as the war with Russia completed 500 days. "I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days," he said.
Zelenskyy had earlier said that Ukrainian forces are making steady, but slow, gains in their counteroffensive against Russian troops. They are apparently conducting offensive operations near what is left of the eastern city of Bakhmut - controlled by Russian forces - as per the Ukrainian General Staff.
(with agencies input)
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