President Biden at RAF Mildenhall in England reveals his stance on Russia.
On Wednesday, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden delivered speeches to US Air Force Personnel and their families in a US airbase in England.
The speech of the President consisted of his plans for the rest of the trip and promises to the American people.
The speech included the President’s goals for this first trip abroad, such as establishing America as a major power after the pandemic, reaffirming the support for NATO, and addressing the world’s greatest current problems, such as the pandemic and climate change. To reassert the nation’s influence, he said “We’re going to make it clear that the United States is back and democracies of the world are standing together to tackle the toughest challenges and the issues that matter most to our future, that we’re committed to leading with strength, defending our values, and delivering for our people.”
To the crowd of men, women, and children at RAF Mildenhall in England, he said he was going to Geneva to meet with Mr. Putin “to let him know what I want him to know.” Adding on, he stated “We are not seeking conflict with Russia. We want a stable, predictable relationship. Our two nations share incredible responsibilities and, among them, ensuring strategic stability and upholding arms control agreements.”
The most anticipated meeting of his trip to Europe is that with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is Biden’s first face-to-face meeting with Putin since his presidency, but not his first encounter.
“I’ll travel to Geneva to sit down with a man I’ve spent time with before, President Vladimir Putin,” said Biden.
During the gaggle on AF1 on the way to the UK, Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said “We do not judge that the Russian government has been behind these recent ransomware attacks, but we do judge that actors in Russia have. And we believe that Russia can take and must take steps to deal with it. And I’m not going to be in the business of telegraphing our punches publicly or issuing threats publicly; I’m just going to say that we believe Russia has a responsibility. And, of course, any country that doesn’t act, then the United States will have to consider what its options are, following that.
When asked if the President will discuss the Nord Stream pipeline with the German chancellor and/or the Russian president, Sullivan responded, “I expect Nord Stream 2 will come up in conversations with the Germans. Again, I don’t want to negotiate publicly on this issue. They understand well our concerns. But we do want to talk to them about what the implications of this pipeline are for energy security in Europe and for Ukraine.
In a previous White House briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated “He’s been getting ready for 50 years. He has been on the world stage. He’s known a number of these leaders for decades, including President Putin, and including a number of the leaders he’ll see at NATO and he’ll see at the G-7. Now, this is an important opportunity for him to see them in person, and there’s nothing like face-to-face engagement in diplomacy.”