Biden serves Russia notice
MILDENHALL, England: President Joe Biden yesterday began his first trip abroad since taking office by hailing America’s unwavering commitment to the Nato alliance and warning Russia it faced ‘‘robust and meaningful’’ consequences if it engaged in harmful activities.
Biden, speaking to about 1000 troops and their families at a British air base, said he would deliver a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet next week after separate summits with Nato, G7 and European leaders.
‘‘We’re not seeking conflict with Russia,’’ the president said.
‘‘We want a stable and predictable relationship . . . but I’ve been clear: the US will respond in a robust and meaningful way if the Russian Government engages in harmful activities.’’
Biden has said he is determined to rebuild transatlantic ties and reframe relations with Russia after four rocky years under Republican former president Donald Trump, whose tariffs and withdrawal from treaties strained relations with major allies.
Biden told reporters as he left for Europe that his goals were ‘‘strengthening the alliance, making it clear to Putin and to China that Europe and the
United States are tight.’’
His summit with Putin on June 16 in Geneva is the capstone of the trip, an opportunity to raise US concerns directly with the Russian leader about ransomware attacks emanating from Russia, Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine and a host of other issues.
In a development further straining USRussia ties, a Russian court yesterday outlawed groups linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, after declaring them ‘‘extremist.’’ Condemning the decision, the US State Department said it ‘‘effectively criminalised one of the country’s few remaining independent political movements.’’
Biden also comes to Europe with a goodwill gesture, the planned announcement that the US will buy and donate 500 million Pfizer Inc/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine doses to about 100 countries over the next two years, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Biden is expected to announce the deal today. The US has faced criticism over securing access to much of the initial stockpile of the most promising vaccines.
Biden was to make his first stop of the trip at the seaside village of St Ives in Cornwall where he will participate in the G7 summit. The meeting is expected to be dominated by vaccine diplomacy, trade, climate and an initiative for rebuilding infrastructure in the developing world. US officials see that effort as a way to counter China’s growing influence.
His push for a global minimum tax on multinational corporations faces opposition at home. G7 finance ministers agreed before the summit to pursue a global minimum tax rate of at least 15% and to allow market countries to tax up to 20% of the excess profits — above a 10% margin — generated by about 100 large, highprofit companies.
Republicans came out against the plan this week, potentially complicating the US ability to implement a broader global agreement.
Biden will have a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today in Cornwall, a chance to renew the USBritish ‘‘special relationship’’ after Britain’s Brexit break from the European Union. But the two have deep policy issues to discuss, with Biden set to reinforce stalwart US support for the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that ended decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
The agreement has come into question with the UK’s exit from the European Union. — Reuters