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By Jeff Mason and Sarah Marsh
WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden heads to Berlin on Thursday for a quick visit to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain, as Kiev urges its Western allies to take urgent action take steps to end the fighting.
The rapidly spreading conflict in the Middle East is also expected to be high on the agenda in talks between the leaders as diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting have stalled.
Biden was originally scheduled to convene a broader gathering of Ukrainian military supporters at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany last week during a planned three-day state visit to the country that would have been the first in nearly four decades.
He canceled that trip to focus on dealing with the onslaught and aftermath of Hurricane Milton, but is making up for it with the short stay this week.
The president will now land in Berlin late on Thursday and hold bilateral talks with the German president and chancellor on Friday morning, before a planned meeting with the so-called European Quad in the afternoon.
Biden has had a close working relationship with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the trip is seen in part as a nod to that partnership before the president leaves office in January.
His trip comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy toured western capitals to present his “victory plan” to end Russia’s more than two-and-a-half-year-old invasion as Moscow’s forces advance in the east and a bleak winter of power cuts looms.
“The battlefield situation in Ukraine, the trajectory of the war, how allies can best support Ukraine will be a topic of discussion,” a senior US administration official said before the trip about the meeting with European leaders.
Next month’s U.S. presidential election is adding to the sense of urgency over Ukraine, given uncertainty over how both presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, would handle the war.
“Germany and the United States are Ukraine’s strongest supporters in defending its sovereignty, integrity and democracy. And we will remain so,” Scholz told the German parliament on Wednesday.
“But this is a time when, in addition to our clear support for Ukraine, we also need to do everything we can to figure out how to make sure that this war doesn’t go on forever, that we don’t continue to have incredible numbers of deaths. of women and men.”
Zelenskiy says his plan, which would include an unconditional invitation to Ukraine to join NATO now, aims to force the Kremlin to negotiate in good faith.
The senior US official said there was discussion among NATO allies about offering an invitation to Ukraine to join, but there was no consensus at this time to offer one. He noted that the alliance had confirmed in July that Ukraine was on an “irreversible path” to membership. “The question is about the tactics of … how we can encourage that path,” he said.
Biden’s trip also comes amid fears of a broader escalation of fighting in the Middle East into a full-scale conflict between Israel and Iran. That issue would also be discussed during the meeting, the US official said.
The United States and Germany are close allies of Israel, which has become increasingly isolated by its military campaign in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, which local authorities say has killed more than 42,000 people.
“We will not accept Iran attacking Israel with missiles,” Scholz said on Wednesday. “That shouldn’t happen. There must be no further destabilization of the region. And Iran is playing with fire. That has to stop.”