what the American president will do during his lightning trip

INTERNATIONAL – He has not given up on his trip. American President Joe Biden is going to Berlin this Friday, October 18, after being forced – because of Hurricane Milton – to postpone this trip, initially planned for last week. Less than three weeks before the presidential election in the United States, the tenant of the White House wishes above all to continue to mobilize Europe on the question of aid to Ukraine.

Because the presidential election on November 5 could constitute a turning point: some fear a drastic drop in American military aid to kyiv in the event of a victory for Republican Donald Trump. Ukraine will therefore be at the heart of the talks between Joe Biden and German officials, at a time when Russian bombings against its essential infrastructure are increasing and its army is retreating on the eastern front.

Joe Biden will undoubtedly “send a message to Europeans about the importance of preparing themselves to take more responsibility in their aid to Ukraine”estimates German political scientist expert in international relations Daniela Schwarzer, of the Bertelsmann Foundation, interviewed by AFP.

Ukraine and the Middle East

The transatlantic trip, reduced to just one day after being postponed, comes as President Biden announced $425 million in new U.S. aid to Ukraine during a phone call Wednesday with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Germany is the second largest aid donor to Ukraine, with the United States being the first. But it has halved, to four billion euros, its budgetary envelope for aid to Ukraine in 2025.

After more than two and a half years of war, a weakening of Western aid is looming, against a backdrop of major conflict in the Middle East. Public opinion is also growing tired, as recently shown by the historic scores in three regional elections obtained by the German far-right AfD party and a new far-left party, which are demanding an end to arms deliveries to kyiv. .

For the White House, the separate meeting between the American president and Olaf Scholz will allow “strengthen close ties” between the two countries and “coordinate on geopolitical priorities, including the defense of Ukraine against Russian aggression and events in the Middle East”.

A meeting with Macron, Scholz and Starmer

Joe Biden will also hold a four-way meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to the visit program sent by the White House. According to the French president, it will notably be a question of “security guarantees” granted to kyiv as part of Ukraine’s rapprochement with NATO. Their meeting should also focus on the situation in the Middle East where the death of the Hamas leader could open a new era.

For this farewell visit, Joe Biden’s last before handing over to Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, the American president will be welcomed by his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The latter will give him the highest distinction of his country for “services rendered” to German-American friendship and the transatlantic alliance.

In front of the deputies of the Bundestag, Olaf Scholz also welcomed “the incredible improvement in cooperation” under the Biden government between Berlin and Washington and at the European level. The tumultuous presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021) had strained relations between the United States and Germany, with him criticizing the Germans and other Europeans for spending too little on common defense in the NATO framework.

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