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What Biden needs to accomplish with his NATO trip
What Biden needs to accomplish with his NATO trip
Biden to travel to Europe for a series of high-stakes meetings
President Joe Biden embarks on a weeklong trip to Europe on Sunday, and the stakes couldn’t be higher for the future of the NATO alliance.
Biden makes a stop in London ahead of his attendance at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, followed by meetings with Nordic leaders in Helsinki, Finland. The backdrop, of course, is Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and last month’s failed coup attempt in Russia, posing the biggest threat to global stability for the alliance in recent history.
Biden will be a key player on a host of critical issues for the alliance as they gather in Vilnius, a city on NATO’s eastern frontier that sits approximately 20 miles from the Belarusian border. The summit will present a key test for the alliance’s continued remarkable level of unity after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and its credibility.
There will be questions about a pathway for Ukraine to joining NATO, and whether members are able to agree on Sweden’s bid for accession. Also at issue is the next steps for the war a month into Ukraine’s counteroffensive, questions about a potential endgame, and what long-term security assistance the leaders can offer to Ukraine.