Biden’s European trip will be heavy on displays of Western unity, but could be
Since the prospect of the NATO leaders summit was first broached roughly two weeks ago, American and European officials have been discussing potential announcements for leaders to make at the conclusion of the gathering, according to several people familiar with the plans.
That could include new rounds of sanctions on Russian oligarchs, additional measures restricting the country’s finances and new steps to limit import of Russian energy products. Discussions are also underway on what measures can be unveiled to provide more support for Ukraine, including new shipments of military assistance or financial aid to bolster the country’s defenses.
And Biden has left open the option of scaling up US troop deployments to NATO members along the alliance’s eastern edge, reinforcing American commitment to European defense at a critical moment.
But the stark reality that those moves are unlikely to curb Putin’s war will loom over Biden’s visit to Brussels for a snap meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, along with a special session of the European Council and a gathering of the G7. Biden could also add another stop in Eastern Europe, potentially Poland, officials have said. He departs Washington on Wednesday for the high-level diplomatic maneuvers.
While Biden has been successful in rallying European and Asian allies behind a punishing set of sanctions and unparalleled levels of military assistance, he and his NATO counterparts have drawn lines at where their support will end. And while all parties seem to support a diplomatic resolution to the crisis, US and European officials say the parameters of such a settlement remain murky.
That leaves open how Biden’s visit to Europe — one of the inflection moments of his presidency — can alter the course of the worst conflict in Europe since World War II. And it poses another discussion point that world leaders must begin to broach: What happens if, or when, Ukraine can no longer withstand Russia’s assault?
“They’re going to have to look at what happens if Ukraine is lost,” said retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO supreme allied commander. “After they have weighed the problem of what happens if Ukraine falls, they have to consider what more can be done to sustain Ukraine in the fight. Yes, there’s a risk. There’s always a risk in dealing with Mr. Putin.”
Biden challenged to be ‘the leader of the world’
“Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace,” Zelensky said in English.
Biden was also challenged by Ukraine’s former President, Petro Poroshenko, to visit Ukraine as a “symbol of our solidarity” during his trip to Europe this week.
Speaking to CNN’s Jim Acosta Saturday afternoon, Poroshenko called Biden a “very good friend of mine and a very good friend of Ukraine,” adding that a visit by Biden would be “an extremely right step to demonstrate that the whole world is together with us against Russia.”
Those personal appeals will have resonated with a man who vowed while seeking office to restore American leadership, renew US alliances and defend democracy from the creeping tide of authoritarianism.
Nowhere will that challenge be more pertinent than at this week’s emergency talks, where leaders are looking to Biden for direction and purpose as the war in Ukraine grinds ahead.
“He’s challenging Biden to live up to his responsibilities as a leader of the West, a leader of the democratic community of nations. And he presented the de facto challenge to NATO,” said Ian Brzezinski, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO in the George W. Bush administration.
“He was saying if NATO is not up to this challenge, we have to think of other security arrangements,” Brzezinski said. “What a powerful challenge to the relevance of NATO in this day and age. That sets the context for … (the) summit meeting.”
The limits of supporting Ukraine on full display ahead of trip
Yet as the summits were announced last week, some European diplomats revealed concern at what they viewed as a lack of major steps available for the leaders to take at the high-profile gathering, which both Russia and Ukraine will be watching closely.
Major items that Ukraine wants, like help from NATO in establishing a no-fly zone or providing Soviet-era fighter jets, appear for now off the table as the US and its partners seek to avoid direct confrontation with Russia. That means any announcement coming out of the meetings would likely focus more on ramping up assistance that’s already being provided, including military and financial aid, or applying new sanctions on Russia.
European and US officials said…
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