Biden heads to Europe amid heated debate over giving cluster munitions to Kyiv

United States President Joe Biden on Sunday headed to Europe for a three-nation tour which will be dominated by the Russia-Ukraine war, approval of cluster munitions forKyiv and membership in expanding NATO military alliance.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that the trip would “showcase the president’s leadership on the world stage”. The US president will be reaching London at night, ahead of a meeting lined with United Kingdom's King Charles and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, from where he will head to the scheduled NATO summit to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, before landing to Helsinki to welcome the newest member of NATO – Finland.

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In a statement, UK prime minister’s office said that the UK was “Europe’s leading NATOally [and] the United States’ most important trade, defence and diplomatic partner”.

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“As we face new and unprecedented challenges to our physical and economic security, our alliances are more important than ever,” it added.

Biden to meet King Charles, Sunak

Biden will also be meeting King Charles at Windsor Castle for the first time since his coronation. The two leaders are expected to talk about the climate crisis and how the problem can be solved with financial initiatives.

Biden will reach Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on Tuesday and will spend two days here and take part in the NATO summit. He will hold meetings with leaders and deliver a speech at Vilnius University.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the summit “will send a clear message: NATOstands united and Russia’s aggression will not pay”. There have also been disagreements over when Ukraine must be sent an invitation to join NATO.

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Speaking to CNN, Biden said, “I don’t think there is unanimity in NATOabout whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATOfamily now, at this moment, in the middle of a war … If the war is going on, then we’re all in war. We’re at war with Russia, if that were the case.”

US senator Thom Tillis, who will be leading a bipartisan delegation in the summit, said, “At the end of the day, you know you’re family. It’s the strongest military alliance in our history and I think it only has gotten stronger as a result of US leadership, as the result of Stoltenberg’s leadership and as a result of the threat from (Russia’s President) Vladimir Putin to all of the NATOallies and other countries in Europe and around the world and to the international order.”

Biden will then head to Helsinki to welcome Finland, which became the 31st member of NATO in April, putting an end to its history of non-alignment and showing how the Russia-Ukraine war has backfired in Europe.

(With inputs from agencies)

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