The 81-year-old democrat announced on Friday, shortly before his meeting with Alexander De Croo, that Israel had proposed a road map for a ceasefire in three phases. “It is time for this war to end,” Joe Biden said. This plan was immediately mentioned during the interview between the two men. The head of the federal government was keen to discuss the conflict in the Gaza Strip with Joe Biden, not only because the United States is an important diplomatic player in the search for a solution to the conflict, but also because they were more reluctant to hold Israel accountable at the start of the violence.
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During the conversation, which lasted almost an hour, the Flemish liberal wanted to convey the message that the violence must stop, and to discuss how partner countries could achieve this goal. “The president explicitly asked Belgium to press the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table,” said Alexander De Croo. He would have made this request in particular because the head of the Belgian government was one of the first leaders to clearly call for a ceasefire. Joe Biden also explained to the Prime Minister that he had the same objective as Belgium: to put an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.
The Democratic President also thanked our country for its constant support to Ukraine, and in particular for its promise to provide F-16s. “Our country wants to deliver 30, thus becoming the largest supplier (of combat aircraft),” said Alexander De Croo on this subject. The two men also discussed the leading role played by Belgium in using the interests of Russian assets frozen at Euroclear, the international depository of funds established in the Brussels region, to support Ukraine. The Prime Minister also discussed this issue with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. A similar proposal is under discussion within the G7, and Joe Biden was interested in the expertise that our country has developed in this area. It was, among other things, recalled that it was imperative to guarantee the stability of Euroclear.
The two leaders also discussed the subject of elections. According to Alexander De Croo, the American president is well aware of our political situation. Among other things, they mentioned Russian interference in the elections. “We talked about the possible dangers for next week’s elections and the president thanked us for the efforts we made to highlight this interference,” reported the liberal.
It was the first time in 18 years that a Belgian Prime Minister was welcomed to the White House. The visit took place in the middle of the electoral campaign. “International developments do not take into account the political agenda and the fact that there are elections next week. We see that the pressure exerted by Russia has increased significantly and we must of course respond to this. The best we can do is be here, with the most important man in the world, to say: we are partners and we will defend each other,” concluded Alexander De Croo.
After this whirlwind visit, it’s time for the campaign again: the Prime Minister will go to the Aalst market on Saturday morning, as soon as he lands in Belgium.
