Tension with Putin and a message of ‘America is back’: Biden’s first foreign trip as president
President Biden, on his first overseas trip as president, aimed to repair crucial ties with U.S. allies after his predecessor’s isolationist policies.
He started with the Group of 7 wealthy democracies Friday, then moved to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance that has worked to preserve global peace since World War II.
“Everyone in that room today understood the shared appreciation that, quite frankly, America is back,” Biden said Monday in Brussels after meetings with NATO member leaders.
He met with the European Council on Tuesday, and ended his trip Wednesday with a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
That high-stakes summit came some three years after President Trump met Putin in Helsinki, Finland, and publicly backed the ex-KGB operative’s denial of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election over the conclusions of U.S. intelligence. Biden, in contrast, Biden said he was frank with the Russian leader about the Kremlin’s trampling of human rights and democracy.
- 1
President Biden brings up human rights and cyberattacks in meeting with Putin. The Russian leader later rejects blame and accuses the U.S. of abuses.
- 2
President Biden gains a tariff agreement and attends the European Union summit, part of a trip to reassure allies after Trump’s isolationist policies.
- 3
Biden and Putin agree the nations’ relationship is at a low point before their summit. Trump sends the ex-KGB chief ‘warmest regards.’
- 4
President Biden builds bridges at NATO summit, after Trump belittled the alliance. Allies support his upcoming meeting with Russia’s Putin, he says.
- 5
President Biden and other G-7 leaders condemn forced labor and call out China and others for human rights abuses.
- 6
President Biden, in his aviators, and First Lady Jill Biden meet with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle. Biden first met the monarch as a senator.
- 7
Group of 7 leaders discuss countering Chinese influence in developing countries. Biden pushes for condemnation of China’s use of forced labor.
- 8
Biden meets with Johnson ahead of the G-7 summit in Cornwall, England. They’ve differed on Brexit, Northern Ireland and Donald Trump.
