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The President of the United States, Joe Biden, will hold bilateral meetings with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and with King Felipe VI on his trip to Madrid for the NATO summit, according to a senior US government official. Until now, the Spanish Government had not confirmed that this meeting was going to take place, not even after the telephone call that both had on Tuesday.
Biden first travels to the G7 meeting in Germany, where he will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, will attend the summit as a guest. Also the leaders of some international organizations, the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández.
Later, Biden, along with some of the participants in the G7 summit, will go to Madrid, where the NATO summit will be held on June 29 and 30. “As soon as the president arrives in Madrid, he will hold bilateral meetings with President Sánchez, as well as with the King of Spain, which of course is the host country for the summit. So it will be a good opportunity for the president to talk to him before the summit. President Biden had the opportunity to speak with President Sánchez by phone yesterday, prior to the summit. He will also have the opportunity to be with the King, both will affirm the strong bilateral relationship that the United States has with Spain”, said the high-ranking official of the United States Government.
This same Wednesday, the question had been raised to the Foreign Ministers, José Manuel Albares, and Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, who have appeared in La Moncloa to explain some details of the summit, but have refused to confirm that this was going to take place. date.
Sánchez and Biden spoke by phone on Tuesday. In its communication about the call, the White House indicated that Biden had “shown his appreciation for Spain’s close cooperation in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, including its provision of humanitarian and security assistance to Ukraine and its support for harsh sanctions against Russia.
For its part, Sánchez noted in a tweet: “I just spoke with President Biden about the next NATO Summit in Madrid, a historic event in which the Alliance will strengthen its unity and cohesion, in defense of democracy and freedom.”
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More pressure on Russia
The NATO summit will deal with the incorporation of Sweden and Finland into the Atlantic Alliance. But already at the G7 summit they will begin to talk about the war in Ukraine. “We will present a set of concrete proposals to increase the pressure on Russia. And we will show our collective support for Ukraine”, said the senior US government official in reference to possible new sanctions, although he has refused to give details about it.
The G7 summit will also deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine on prices and problems of energy security and food security, according to the same source. The leaders will also address the global economic situation and launch an infrastructure alliance.
Regarding the NATO summit, Washington considers that Biden has contributed to revitalizing the Alliance and making it more united and stronger than ever. As explained by the senior official, one of the great results that Washington hopes to obtain is the approval by the leaders of a new strategic concept, which will drive the transformation of NATO in the coming years, in response to a wide range of threats. and challenges. NATO’s last strategic concept dates back to 2010. And in Washington they consider that since then there have been significant changes in the geopolitical environment. “Obviously, Russia remains the most serious and immediate threat to the Alliance,” he told the senior official.
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