Square “on the tightrope” by the war in Ukraine, Joe Biden has “sought to reassure Europe”during a marathon visit to Brussels on Thursday 24 March, during which he took part in the NATO, G7 and European Council summits, summarizes The Guardian.
And “the bar had been set so low by [son prédécesseur] Donald Trump that by condemning Russian Vladimir Putin rather than praising his strength, [le président américain] won good graces during this tour under the sign of unity”. “He didn’t shove the Prime Minister of Montenegro during a photo op, he didn’t call the British Prime Minister and the German Chancellor ‘losers’ and he did not deride [les membres] l’Otan [en les dépeignant] like a bunch of crooks looking for a free lunch”lists the British newspaper.
America back
The Democrat “reiterated his message that America is back.” He arrived in the Belgian capital promising to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, to give an additional $1 billion in humanitarian aid, to impose sanctions on 300 members of the Russian parliament.
L’Otan n’a “never, ever been so united”, he then proclaimed during a press conference.
However, writes the New York Times, “this historic gathering of world leaders in a series of three summits underscored how the United States and its allies have, in some ways, reached their self-imposed limits in crafting a global response united in the greatest European conflict for more than half a century”. For the American daily, “if they sharpen the tools they use against Russia, they seem to have few new tools at their disposal”.
If the American president promised Thursday for the first time a “response” of NATO in the conflict in Ukraine if Russia used chemical weapons there, “it is still unclear how he will react if an increasingly desperate Putin resorts to biological, chemical or even nuclear weapons”, note The Guardian.
A visit that “masks deeper disagreements”
While Western leaders tout a revitalized alliance, his visit “masks deeper disagreements”judge on his side The Atlantic. “Despite the impressive unity within the West on Ukraine, we can see the limits of the pain Europe is willing to endure to pressure Russia”comments the American publication as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that he would not accept a total ban on Russian energy imports, which he said would amount to “plunge our country and all of Europe into a recession”.
“The reality is that the West operates as an American-led alliance, but it is not clear that Europe is in complete agreement on America’s main strategic threats.relieves The Atlantic. There will come a time when Europe and the United States will have to decide if and how to renew their alliance for the next challenge.”
Stay too, explain The Guardianthat during Joe Biden’s press conference, “someone relayed European concerns that Trump might be re-elected in 2024 – raising the specter of a return to uncertainty and insults and praise from Putin.”