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Air Force One touched down at London’s Stansted Airport on Sunday night
4 hours ago
US President Joe Biden has arrived in Britain ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Lithuania later this week.
The summit comes after many allies questioned his call to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Britain and Canada are among those who have expressed concern about supplying Ukraine with the bombs, which are widely banned because of the danger they pose to civilians.
The United States says it is necessary because Ukrainian weapons stocks are dwindling.
Air Force One landed at London’s Stansted Airport on Sunday evening.
On Monday, Biden will meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss various issues, including the war in Ukraine.
Sunak did not directly criticize the US president after he announced the cluster bomb supply to Kiev on Friday, but said on Saturday that Britain was one of 123 countries to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty banning the production or use of the weapons.
But other allies of Washington went further. New Zealand, a NATO member state, said on Sunday that cluster munitions can cause “massive harm to innocent people”.
Cluster bombs usually release many bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Unexploded bomblets can remain on the ground for years before exploding.
The United States says it has received written assurances from Kiev that Ukrainian forces will not use the weapons on Russian soil or in urban areas.
While in Britain, Biden will meet King Charles for the first time since the king’s coronation.
Then the members of NATO – a military alliance of 31 Western countries – meet in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Finland will attend its first summit since joining the alliance last April. Türkiye has blocked Sweden’s accession plans, accusing it of harboring terrorists.
Biden is expected to seek more support from Mr. Sunak, to help broker a deal with Turkey to accept Sweden’s accession.
The issue is also expected to be on the agenda of the NATO summit in Lithuania, along with boosting ammunition stocks and reviewing defense plans.
Ukraine has its own ambitions to join NATO. But speaking to CNN before his trip, Biden said this could not happen until the war ended in line with longstanding coalition policy.
Citing NATO’s mutual defense pact, the US president noted that members pledge to protect “every inch” of each other’s territory, meaning that “if war goes on, we’re all at war.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously accepted this position, but asked for a “signal” that his country would be able to join the alliance when the war ended. Zelensky is expected to attend the summit this week.
The United States agreed to meet Ukraine’s request for cluster bombs on Friday. Officials said this is part of a broad $800 million military aid package.
Biden told CNN it was a “very difficult decision” but that he ultimately acted because “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition”.
But a number of NATO members quickly distanced themselves from the decision. Canada and Spain – both members of NATO – added their opposition to New Zealand’s opposition.
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said:
No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which we understand should not be carried out with cluster bombs.
But Germany, another signatory to the treaty and a member of NATO, said that although it would not provide such weapons to Ukraine, it understood the US position.
One of the concerns surrounding cluster bombs is their failure – or the failure rate, which is the bomblets exploding after a long, indiscriminate time.
But the United States has said its cluster bombs fail less frequently than those already used by Russia in the Ukraine war.
Ukraine pledged not to use these weapons in civilian areas, and to monitor and report their use, but Russia rejected these assurances, describing them as “worthless.”
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2023-07-09 23:50:16
