Good Morning DC,
President Biden started the day at the G7 in the Bavarian Alps before traveling to Spain for the NATO summit.
The G7 leaders have classified yesterday’s Russian missile strike on a shopping centre in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk as a war crime.
The President’s first event at G7 was a meeting on the summit’s sidelines with Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom. Then, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi was added to the program. And just like that, the Quad has become the Quint.
At the top of the meeting, Boris Johnson joked about the “intimate gathering” of dozens of reporters and photographers. Biden did not respond to a question about getting grain out of Ukraine, turning to his peers and saying he didn’t hear the question. The question was then repeated, but Biden still did not answer. Johnson jumped in and said, “we’re working on it.”
Getting grain out of Ukraine to global markets is at the top of the priorities of G7 leaders. The UN has warned that 49 million people are now at risk of famine as a Russian blockade of grain from Ukraine pushes up prices around the globe.
Ukraine is an essential grain producer and exporter, and the shortfalls in international markets make it a global challenge.
“Those pressures even becoming more acute as Ukraine reaches harvest season, are, if anything, increasing the focus that G7 leaders have on this issue,” said a senior White House official.
The G7 committed to contributing up to $5 billion to food security, over half of which will come from the United States. According to a senior White House official, President Biden “committed $2.76 billion in additional US government funding to support efforts in over 47 countries and regional organizations.”
The G7 has also had a “very productive” on China.
“You’ll see leaders release a collective statement, which is unprecedented in the context of the G7, acknowledging the harms caused by China’s non-transparent, market-distorting industrial directives,” a senior White House official told us.
Leaders also spoke about China’s role in getting low- and middle-income countries into debt traps.
NATO SUMMIT
NATO Summit starts today in Madrid, Spain.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for hosting the NATO Summit noting that this year marks 40 years of Spain’s NATO membership.
President Biden spoke on the phone with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Biden told Erdogan that he looks forward to seeing him at the NATO Summit as the US hopes to clear out any political roadblocks to Finland and Sweden joining the NATO.
The full schedule for President Biden’s day in Spain you can see here.
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