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President Joe Biden began his three-nation trip to Europe over the weekend.
The president first made a stop in Britain where he was greeted by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III. He reportedly spoke with the king on how to tackle climate change issues.
However, the bigger news from this European venture surrounds discussions the president will have with NATO leaders in Lithuania. Biden will speak with these officials on Tuesday and Wednesday, likely focusing on the Ukraine war and accepting other nations into the group.
One hot topic of discussion is whether or not Ukraine should be accepted into the alliance, something President Biden has previously dismissed.
In an interview with CNN before he left for his trip, Biden explicitly said that Ukraine is not “ready for membership in NATO” due to the ongoing war. He also cited the risk of expanding the current war should Ukraine be accepted into NATO right away.
This is in stark contrast to a comment made by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said last week that he was working with his peers to urge Ukraine’s admission into NATO. Despite Graham’s intentions of preventing “future wars,” many politicians on both sides of the aisle called him out for a move which could result in “war with Russia.”
All of this follows a new tranche of U.S. support to Ukraine, which includes cluster bombs, a controversial ammunition type that Russia has been accused of using in its invasion. Biden defended this decision in that same interview while also accidentally revealing some information on our own ammunition capabilities.
His remarks on our stock of 155m shells received major pushback online, as many internet conservatives and even Democrat presidential candidate RFK Jr. decried the comments.
Shifting back to the topic of NATO admissions, Biden expressed optimism and support for Sweden’s acceptance while bolstering confidence in the entity’s ability to resist Russian aggression.
Biden’s last stop on his tour will be in Helsinki to talk with officials from Finland, the newest member of NATO, and to attend a Nordic-U.S. summit.