Biden in Germany for talks on Ukraine, Middle East
BERLIN — U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Berlin on Thursday for a short visit to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain as Kyiv urges its Western allies to take immediate action to end the fighting.
The conflict in the Middle East is also expected to be high on the agenda in talks between the leaders, as the Biden administration hopes Israel’s killing of Hamas official Yahya Sinwar could bring a ceasefire in Gaza closer to fruition.
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Biden had originally been scheduled to convene a broader meeting of Ukraine’s military supporters at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany last week during a planned three-day state visit to the country that would have been the first in nearly 40 years.
He canceled that trip to focus on dealing with Hurricane Milton, but is making up for it with the quick visit this week. The Ramstein meeting will be held virtually in November, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The president landed late on Thursday in Berlin and will hold bilateral talks on Friday morning with Germany’s president and chancellor, before a planned meeting with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain.
Biden has had a close working relationship with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the trip is seen in part as a nod to that partnership before Biden leaves office in January.
His trip comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toured western capitals to present his “victory plan” to end Russia’s more than 2-1/2-year-old invasion as Moscow’s forces advance in the east and a bleak winter of power cuts looms.
“The situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, the trajectory of the war, how allies can best support Ukraine will be a subject of conversation,” a senior U.S. administration official said before the trip about the meeting with European leaders.
Next month’s U.S. presidential election is adding to the sense of urgency about Ukraine, given uncertainty about how both presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, would handle the war.
“Germany and the United States are the biggest supporters of Ukraine in defense of its sovereignty and integrity and its democracy. And we will continue to be so,” Scholz told the German parliament on Wednesday.
