U.S. President Joe Biden canceled his upcoming trip to Germany on Tuesday in a blow to plans for the highest level meeting ever of the Ramstein group of Ukraine arms donors that aimed to underscore unwavering support for Kyiv.
Germany had expected some 20 leaders to travel to Ramstein in the southwest, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to present his "victory plan" which he describes as clear, specific steps for a just end to the war.
The Ramstein group was set to meet at the highest level on the sidelines of Biden's October 10-13 state visit to Germany, which would have been the first U.S. state visit there in nearly 40 years.
The White House said Biden was postponing his trip to both Germany and Angola to handle preparations for Hurricane Milton and relief efforts after Hurricane Helene, which last month killed more than 200 people.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday he understood Biden's decision to postpone his visit but expected it to be rescheduled.
A Ukrainian official told TVP World that, so far, no decision has been made to change Zelenskyy’s plans to attend the summit.
"While Biden's decision is understandable, it risks cementing the impression that the United States is too pre-occupied with itself to be a reliable partner," Marcel Dirsus of Kiel University's Institute for Security Policy said.
"That could embolden America's adversaries, most notably Russia."
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Washington gathered like-minded nations at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, southwestern Germany, establishing a group of some 50 nations whose defence ministers meet regularly to match Kyiv's arms requests with pledges of donors.
Saturday's meeting - the first at the level of leaders - had been scheduled to open with public remarks by Biden, Zelenskyy and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to a German official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish President Andrzej Duda were also scheduled to attend.
The German official reiterated Scholz's readiness for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, provided that they offer a prospect for progress on the way to a just and sustainable peace, but warned Russia to not interpret this as weakness.
Putin said in June that Moscow would end the war against Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to hand over all of four regions claimed by Moscow and to drop its ambitions to join NATO. Kyiv rejected those demands as tantamount to surrender.
The Ramstein group was set to meet at the highest level on the sidelines of Biden's October 10-13 state visit to Germany, which would have been the first U.S. state visit there in nearly 40 years.
The White House said Biden was postponing his trip to both Germany and Angola to handle preparations for Hurricane Milton and relief efforts after Hurricane Helene, which last month killed more than 200 people.
"I just don't think I can be out of the country at this time," Biden said, adding that he hoped to reschedule the trip "and all the conferences I said I'd participate in."“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century."
— Bloomberg (@business) October 8, 2024
President Biden detailed efforts to respond to Hurricane Milton, the second major storm in two weeks to impact the US southeast, warning residents "evacuate now" https://t.co/T86XkLfOl7 pic.twitter.com/y75C5y43Qc
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday he understood Biden's decision to postpone his visit but expected it to be rescheduled.
A Ukrainian official told TVP World that, so far, no decision has been made to change Zelenskyy’s plans to attend the summit.
"While Biden's decision is understandable, it risks cementing the impression that the United States is too pre-occupied with itself to be a reliable partner," Marcel Dirsus of Kiel University's Institute for Security Policy said.
"That could embolden America's adversaries, most notably Russia."
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Washington gathered like-minded nations at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, southwestern Germany, establishing a group of some 50 nations whose defence ministers meet regularly to match Kyiv's arms requests with pledges of donors.
Saturday's meeting - the first at the level of leaders - had been scheduled to open with public remarks by Biden, Zelenskyy and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to a German official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish President Andrzej Duda were also scheduled to attend.
The German official reiterated Scholz's readiness for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, provided that they offer a prospect for progress on the way to a just and sustainable peace, but warned Russia to not interpret this as weakness.
Putin said in June that Moscow would end the war against Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to hand over all of four regions claimed by Moscow and to drop its ambitions to join NATO. Kyiv rejected those demands as tantamount to surrender.
