President Biden will travel to southern Germany on June 25 to attend the Group of Seven nations summit and then to Spain for the 2022 NATO summit amid concerns about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting food and energy crises, the White House said Wednesday.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the G-7 session in Schloss Elmau will focus on the “most pressing issues.”
Those include “economic and democratic” resilience and “tackling the climate crisis, development infrastructure, global health security and the food and energy crisis caused by Russia’s war of aggression,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
Russia was kicked out of the G-8 after annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, leaving seven leading economies in the club.
Mr. Biden will head to Madrid on June 28 for the NATO summit. It comes at a critical time, with Sweden and Finland seeking to join the military alliance after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and Western nations grappling with how to assist Kyiv in the fight while winding down the war.
“Allied leaders will endorse a new Strategic Concept to guide NATO’s transformation over the next decade, from strengthening deterrence and defense to building resilience against transnational threats including cyber and climate, to deepening partnerships with democratic partners in Europe and Asia in order to strengthen the rules-based international order,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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