President Biden travels to Europe amid new rifts

President Biden departed for Europe on July 9 (local time), beginning a five-day trip with three stops, including the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Finland. According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, this trip will "showcase the president's leadership on the world stage," AP reported.

President Biden on Air Force One on July 7.

Strengthening alliances

According to Reuters, Biden arrived in London on the night of July 9th and will meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III on July 10th. The White House said the US president's visit, which comes just a month after Sunak's visit to the White House, aims to "further strengthen the close relationship between the two countries."

According to a spokesperson for the British Prime Minister, Biden and Sunak plan to discuss the conflict in Ukraine as well as the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit in Lithuania, which both will attend afterward. This will be the sixth meeting between the two leaders since Sunak became British Prime Minister in October 2022, according to AP.

Biden will also meet with King Charles III at Windsor Castle in west London, where the late Queen Elizabeth II once hosted former US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The two are expected to discuss climate change, a topic King Charles III campaigned for and spoke out on for more than five decades. Biden did not attend the British monarch's coronation in May, so this will be their first meeting since that event.

Disagreements within NATO

The centerpiece of Biden's European trip is the NATO leaders' summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on July 11-12. NATO, the US-led military alliance, has been revitalized since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while also facing internal disagreements regarding membership and support for Kyiv.

The Vilnius summit is taking place against the backdrop of Biden's recent announcement of plans to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, a type of weapon that more than two-thirds of NATO members have banned due to its potential to cause civilian casualties, according to AP. At the summit, the US president is likely to face questioning from allies regarding this decision.

Biden's ability to unite NATO members will also be tested, as Sweden's efforts to join the alliance continue to face obstacles due to opposition from Türkiye and Hungary. NATO is also divided on inviting Ukraine to join. While Lithuania and other countries on NATO's eastern flank want to expedite the process, the US, Germany, and others favor a more cautious approach, fearing the prospect of NATO being drawn into direct conflict with Russia.

After Vilnius, Biden will travel to Helsinki, Finland, the country that became NATO's newest member in April. Finland and Sweden jointly applied to join NATO last year, abandoning their long-standing neutrality due to security concerns following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. In Helsinki on July 13, Biden is expected to meet with other Nordic leaders, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.

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