President Joe Biden will travel to Europe next week to participate in a NATO summit, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Tuesday.
Biden will attend the summit March 24 to discuss further NATO action against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both the U.S. and NATO have ruled out directly deploying troops to Ukraine, however. (RELATED: Reporter Suggests Biden Is Pushing Ukrainians To ‘Commit Suicide’)
“The President will travel to Brussels, Belgium later this month where he will join an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine,” Psaki said, adding that Biden would “reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies.”
Reporters at the briefing later pressed Psaki on whether Biden might meet directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a possibility she did not rule out.
WH @PressSec Psaki doesn’t rule President Biden meeting with Zelenskyy during his trip to Europe when asked:
“We’re still finalizing the trip at this time. Nothing on the table at this point in time but the real focus right now is to meet with NATO partners in Brussels.”
— Matt Brown (@mrbrownsir) March 15, 2022
The U.S. and other NATO countries have levied heavy economic sanctions against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine, but have not delivered direct military support against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Biden has suggested that any conflict between U.S. and Russian forces would result in a third “World War.”
A Monday poll found that the majority of Americans lack confidence that Biden can prevent war from spreading out of Ukraine to other countries. Republicans and independents were united in their concern about Biden’s policies, while Democrats largely stated they remain confident in the president.
Biden has warned Putin that any invasion of a NATO country would be met with the full force of the U.S. military. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has edged farther west since it began, with an airstrike falling on Poland’s “doorstep” Sunday.