Biden to meet with UK Prime Minister, Turkish President and other world leaders during first foreign trip

By Kate Sullivan, CNN

President Joe Biden will meet with United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other world leaders during his first international trip as President next week, the White House announced Thursday.

Biden will meet with Johnson on June 10, ahead of the Group of Seven summit behind held in southwestern England. Johnson is hosting this year’s G7 summit, which is being held in Cornwall from June 11 to 13.

The President is also set to hold bilateral meetings with the other leaders of G7 countries — which consists of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — during the visit.

The President participated in a virtual G7 event earlier this year and discussed efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year’s in-person summit was canceled because of the pandemic.

The summit and meetings with foreign leaders will come the week after Biden is set to announce his plans to distribute millions of coronavirus vaccines worldwide, a decision that is expected to be announced after months of deliberation.

Biden said earlier this month the US would share an additional 20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of next month on top of the 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine the President had already committed to sharing by July 4.

The President and first lady Jill Biden will also meet with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on June 13, Buckingham Palace and the White House announced on Thursday. Jill Biden will return to the United States after meeting the Queen.

Biden will then travel to Brussels to participate in the NATO summit on June 14. Biden will affirm the US’ commitment to NATO, transatlantic security and collective defense, and NATO leaders will discuss how to address future threats and “effective burden sharing,” the White House says.

The President will meet with Erdogan “to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues,” the White House says.

After the NATO summit, Biden will participate in the US-European Union Summit on June 15. The leaders will discuss global health security, global economic recovery, the climate crisis, digital and trade cooperation, strengthening democracy and addressing mutual foreign policy concerns, the White House says.

Biden will also meet with King Philippe of Belgium and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

The President will then travel to Geneva, Switzerland, and hold a bilateral summit with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin on June 16, as CNN previously reported. The long anticipated meeting will come at the conclusion of Biden’s first international trip since taking office. Biden plans to address Ukraine and Belarus during the meeting, among other issues, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said.

While in Geneva, Biden will also meet with Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.