June 3 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will meet with Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his trip to Europe next week, the White House said Thursday.
Biden will travel to Britain, Belgium and Switzerland next week, primarily for the Group of Seven summit in Cornwall in south England.
It’s been known for weeks that Biden would make his first official foreign visit there, but Thursday’s announcement detailed his meetings with other leaders.
Biden will meet Johnson at the summit on June 10 and then the queen at Windsor Castle on June 13. Later, he will move to Belgium and Switzerland. First lady Jill Biden will accompany the president on the trip.
“This trip will highlight America’s commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalizing the transatlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners to address global challenges and better secure America’s interests,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
In Brussels, Biden will participate in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit on June 14. Among the topics expected at the NATO meeting, the White House said, are “future threats” and “effective burden sharing.”
This week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the alliance to engage in more effective “pooling” of resources “to boost our common security.”
Biden will meet with Erdogan at the NATO summit. The U.S. president’s move to break with tradition earlier this year to officially recognize of the Armenian genocide more than 100 years ago by the Ottoman empire is expected to come up in those talks.
While in Brussels, the White House said Biden will also meet King Philippe of Belgium and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
In Geneva, Switzerland, Biden will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16.
Psaki said previously that the two will discuss a range of “pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability in the U.S.-Russia relationship.”
Biden will also meet with Swiss President Guy Parmelin and foreign minister Ignazio Cassis while in Geneva.
