Ukraine War at ‘Top of Mind’ for Biden and Sunak in British Premier’s First White House Visit

WASHINGTON — President Biden is welcoming Prime Minister Sunak for wide-ranging talks on Thursday as the British leader makes his first White House visit as premier.The leaders’ Oval Office talks are expected to cover the war in Ukraine, China, economic security, international cooperation on regulating the growing field of artificial intelligence, and more. Messrs. Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Mr. Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington will offer the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date.The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the 15-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine will be “top of mind.” The U.S. and U.K. are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort and play a central role in a long-term effort announced last month to train, and eventually equip, Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.Mr. Sunak also is looking to make the case to Mr. Biden for the U.K. defense minister, Ben Wallace, to succeed the outgoing NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, who is set to end his term leading the 31-member alliance in September. Mr. Stoltenberg is slated to meet with Mr. Biden in Washington on Monday, and leaders from the alliance are set to gather in Lithuania on July 11-12 for their annual summit.“The two leaders will review a range of global issues including our economic partnership or shared support of Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s war of aggression, as well as further action to accelerate the clean energy transition,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. Mr. Sunak is keen to make the U.K. a key player in artificial intelligence, and announced that his government will gather politicians, scientists and tech executives for a summit on AI safety in the fall.He said it was vital to ensure that “paradigm-shifting new technologies” are harnessed for the good of humanity.“No one country can do this alone,” Mr. Sunak said. “This is going to take a global effort.”Mr. Sunak’s visit comes as U.S. and British intelligence officials are still trying to sort out blame for the breaching of a major dam in southern Ukraine, which sent floodwaters gushing through towns and over farmland. Neither Washington nor London has officially accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.Mr. Sunak said Wednesday that U.K. intelligence services are still assessing the evidence, but “if it does prove to be intentional, it will represent a new low … an appalling barbarism on Russia’s part.”“Russia throughout this war has used as a deliberate active strategy to target civilian infrastructure,” he told broadcaster ITV in Washington.The two sides are hoping to demonstrate that the U.S.-U.K. relationship remains as strong as ever despite recent political and economic upheaval in the U.K. Mr. Sunak is one of three British prime ministers Mr. Biden has dealt with since taking office in 2021, and the administrations have had differences over Brexit and its impact on Northern Ireland.There also have been some awkward moments between the two leaders in the early going.Mr. Biden, at a White House celebration in October to mark the Hindu holiday of Diwali, noted the elevation of Sunak, who is the U.K.’s first leader of color and the first Hindu to serve in the role, as a “groundbreaking milestone” but he badly mangled the pronunciation of Sunak’s name.At a March meeting in San Diego with Mr. Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to announce plans to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines, Mr. Biden jokingly told Mr. Sunak “maybe you can invite me to your home in California.” The lighthearted aside resurrected old political baggage for Mr. Sunak, whose political aspirations briefly dimmed as he faced an ethics investigation last year after it emerged that he had possessed a U.S. green card two years after being appointed chancellor of the exchequer. Mr. Sunak, a former hedge fund manager with an MBA from Stanford University, and his wife own a home in California.Nonetheless, there’s a sense in the Biden administration that the U.S.-U.K. relationship is back on more stable footing after the sometimes choppy tenure of Prime Minister Johnson and the 45-day premiership of Liz Truss.Mr. Sunak opened his two-day Washington visit on Wednesday by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. He met with key congressional leaders, including Speaker McCarthy, as well as business leaders. He also attended a Washington Nationals baseball game.

Ukraine War at ‘Top of Mind’ for Biden and Sunak in British Premier’s First White House Visit

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