Biden Heads to Britain for First Foreign Tour
US President Joe Biden flew to Britain on Wednesday on his first foreign trip since taking office in January.
The eight-day trip is aimed at rebuilding transatlantic relations that were strained during former President Donald Trump’s tenure and reshaping relations with Russia.
The trip is a test of the president’s ability to manage and mend relations with key allies who have been disappointed by Trump’s tariffs and withdrawal from international treaties.
“Will the alliances and democratic institutions that have formed so much of the last century prove their ability to confront modern-day threats and animosities?” Biden wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. I think the answer is yes. We have a chance to prove that this week in Europe.”
“His meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Geneva will be the culmination of the trip, and an opportunity to raise U.S. concerns directly with Putin about cyberattacks emanating from Russia, Moscow’s assaults on Ukraine and a host of other issues.”
Biden will make his first stop in the coastal village of St. Ives, Cornouailles, where he will participate in the Group of Seven summit.
Trade, climate, vaccine diplomacy and an initiative to rebuild infrastructure in the developing world are expected to dominate the meeting.
U.S. officials see the initiative as a way to counter China’s growing influence.
Biden will meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday in Cornouailles, a chance to breathe new life into the “special relationship” between the two countries after Britain’s exit from the European Union.
After the three-day G7 summit, Biden and his wife will visit Queen Elizabeth’s Generation at Windsor Castle. Biden, (78 years old), met the Queen in 1982 when he was a senator from the state of Delaware.
He will then travel to Brussels for talks with NATO and EU leaders. The talks are expected to focus on Russia and China – and the ever-present issue of increasing NATO’s contribution to the costs of common defense.
At his final stop in Geneva, Biden will hold a meeting, perhaps the toughest of the trip, with Putin, who has had friendly relations with Trump.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden hoped his meetings with the Group of Seven and NATO would foster a sense of allied unity before heading into his meeting with Putin.
The summit is not expected to produce major developments, and Sullivan said Biden would press Putin on matters that are a U.S. priority.
