LONDON/WINDSOR, England – US President Joe Biden made a whistle-stop journey to Britain on Monday, hailing the “rock-solid” friendship with Washington’s shut ally earlier than assembly King Charles for a dialogue with the monarch and finance chiefs on tackling local weather change.
Biden’s go to to Britain kicked off a three-nation journey that can embody the NATO summit in Lithuania, at which allies goal to indicate solidarity with Ukraine towards Russia’s invasion whereas not but accepting Kyiv as an alliance member.
The president’s assembly with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, their fifth in as many months, lasted lower than an hour, with the concentrate on Ukraine.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” mentioned Biden as they sat within the backyard of Sunak’s Downing Street workplace. “Our relationship is rock-solid. Couldn’t be meeting with a closer friend and a greater ally.”
Sunak and Biden shared notes earlier than the NATO summit which kicks off on Tuesday. Ahead of the journey, Biden urged warning for now on Ukraine’s marketing campaign to affix NATO, whose mutual protection pact obliges all members to come back to assistance from any member that’s attacked.
“We want to work with the U.S. and our allies on the pathway for Ukraine to join,” Sunak’s spokesperson informed reporters, saying it might not be acceptable for Ukraine to affix whereas the struggle was ongoing.
The leaders additionally mentioned the U.S. choice to ship Ukraine cluster munitions, that are banned by greater than 100 international locations, together with Britain, which view them as a possible risk to civilian populations as a result of they sometimes launch massive numbers of smaller bomblets that may kill indiscriminately.
Russia, Ukraine and the United States haven’t signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans their manufacturing, stockpiling, use and switch.
“We stand by our obligations under the convention, which include discouraging their use. There is no change from us on that, obviously it is for each country to make a decision,” Sunak’s spokesperson mentioned.
After the assembly, Biden, 80, headed to Windsor Castle to fulfill the king, the place he was greeted with conventional pomp and ceremony within the fortress quadrangle.
Biden, who skipped the king’s coronation in May in keeping with the longstanding observe of U.S. presidents, exchanged a heat welcome with the 74-year-old monarch earlier than they met with banking bosses, financiers and philanthropists to debate learn how to assist enhance non-public funding to fight local weather change.
The situation is one each Biden and Charles, an environmental campaigner for greater than 5 many years, say poses an existential risk. The assembly comes at a second when Sunak has confronted criticism over his dedication to environmental points.
“We had several trillions of dollars of assets that are managed and deployed represented in the group that met today, all people who are deeply committed to dealing with the climate crisis,” mentioned John Kerry, the U.S. particular local weather envoy, who was a type of current.
Amongst the opposite attendees had been COP28 President-Designate Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, and chief executives from HSBC, NatWest, Blackrock, Lloyds of London and Allianz Holdings. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
