WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden heads to Germany on Thursday and plans to visit Angola in the first week of December, and could remain in Washington to oversee the federal government’s response to Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida. We are planning to reschedule the postponed visit.
The original itinerary for the postponed visit included a meeting with allies at a U.S. military base in Germany about the Ukraine war before Biden continued his visit to Angola, but the Berlin trip will be short-lived. Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is scheduled to speak by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday, but the meeting cannot take place in Europe this time.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced another $425 million in military aid to Ukraine, bringing the total to more than $64 billion in the two-and-a-half years since the Russian invasion. Wednesday’s package includes surface-to-air missiles to protect Ukraine’s infrastructure from Russian attacks, as well as long-range rockets and artillery to support the war effort.
Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also spoke by phone and discussed the need for the two countries to “continue strong cooperation on geopolitical priorities, including supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression,” the White House said. We talked. But Jean-Pierre said the trip was important for Biden in part because of Germany’s assistance in the complex hostage exchange with Russia.
“The president definitely wanted to go to Germany to thank Chancellor Scholz in person,” she said.
There is considerable anxiety in Europe about what next month’s US presidential election will mean for Ukraine.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has aligned with Biden on the need to maintain strong economic and military support for Ukraine. Republican Donald Trump said he would act quickly to end the war with Russia if he regained the White House.
President Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, said the plan includes establishing a “demilitarized zone” in which Ukraine would not take back territory occupied by Russia and would not join NATO. He said he agreed with that.
Mr. Scholz is one of Mr. Biden’s closest allies globally.
In addition to his strong support for Ukraine, Scholz was instrumental in freeing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security chief Paul Whelan from Russian prisons in a multinational prisoner swap. played an important role.
As part of the largest prisoner exchange in post-Soviet history, Scholz was arrested in 2019 for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian man convicted of killing a 40-year-old Georgian national who fought with Russian forces in Chechnya and later applied for asylum. agreed to the release of Germany.
Biden has not visited Africa since taking office in early 2021.
