President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium, next week for a European Union summit and an emergency NATO meeting as the bloc grapples with the war between Russia and Ukraine on its doorstep.
Biden’s itinerary was confirmed by an EU official one day after reports surfaced that the White House was considering a presidential in-person show of support for key allies and partners as causalities mount and Russia launched roughly 30 cruise missiles at a military training base close to Ukraine’s western border with NATO member Poland.
“President Biden @POTUS comes to @NATO HQ next week to participate in an extraordinary meeting of the leaders of all #NATO Allies,” the U.S. Mission to NATO tweeted Tuesday.
President Biden @POTUS comes to @NATO HQ next week to participate in an extraordinary meeting of the leaders of all #NATO Allies. #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/Pd08Tk2KTs
— US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) March 15, 2022
White House press secretary Jen Psaki remained mum this week when asked what the administration hoped to achieve from a trip and whether it would include stops in, for example, Poland to visit some of the millions of refugees who have fled the conflict.
“We are, of course, closely engaged with our NATO partners and European allies, as you heard us say a number of times, about the next steps in diplomacy, whether that’s providing additional humanitarian or security assistance or the mechanics for future conversations,” she said. “But there’s not been any final decision about a trip, so I don’t have anything to preview about what that would look like if he were to take a trip.”
Similar reports had circulated about plans for first lady Jill Biden to tour the region as her aides organized a phone call between her and her Polish counterpart, Agata Kornhauser-Duda.
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Vice President Kamala Harris has visited Europe twice in the past month. Harris addressed the Munich Security Conference and held sideline meetings with embattled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of the Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, in February. She then returned this weekend from another swing through Poland and Romania.
