In the United States, President Joe Biden is slated to depart for Britain later today to embark on his first overseas trip since taking office. Eager to reassert the United States on the world stage, Biden is expected to steady European allies deeply shaken by his predecessor, Donald Trump, and push democracy as the only bulwark to rising forces of authoritarianism around the world. Biden will also meet with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in Geneva during his trip.
It is time to even out the playing field, now that the United States is ready to go back to the world stage.
Biden has set the stakes for the eight-day overseas trip in sweeping terms, believing that the West must publicly display its economic power, so as to illustrate to China that the West is capable of competing economically with China.
And as the coronavirus pandemic is expected to take a back seat in the near future, Biden is expected to steady European allies deeply shaken during the Trump era so that they can hit the ground running in the coming years.
Biden’s trip is mainly aimed at managing and repairing relationships with the U.S.’ steadfast allies, many of whom became disenchanted with the U.S. after Trump decided to withdraw the nation from international treaties.
Slated to attend a summit with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on June 16th in Geneva, Biden will likely avail his nation of the summit to privately pressure Putin to stop its crackdown on anti-Kremlin figures, and end myriad provocations, such as cyberattacks on American businesses by Russian-based hackers, and interfering in U.S. elections. He is also expected to demand the immediate release of opposition figures sentenced to jail, such as Alexei Navalny.
Biden will have his hands full attending tons of meetings in his 8-day international trip, as he first will have a meeting with Britain’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The meeting is seen as a chance to renew the U.S.-British “special relationship” after Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Then, he will head to Brussels for a NATO summit, and then a meeting with the heads of the European Union. The meeting comes at a moment when Europeans have diminished expectations for what they can expect of U.S. leadership on the foreign stage after the Trump era.
Comments