Biden makes lightning visit to Germany focused on the Middle East and Ukraine

President Joe Biden made a whirlwind and pomp-filled visit to Germany this Friday, in which he personally promoted transatlantic unity and received Germany’s highest civilian honor.

Biden also met in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss a range of issues behind closed doors, including how continue supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression and the rapidly changing situation in the Middle East.

“They talked about the president’s victory plan [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and how we can all work together to try to see if we can reach a just peace that President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people will approve of,” said White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby. “And, of course, that we can implement.”

And the brutal conflict in Gaza infiltrated the state visit, with the news that Israeli forces had killed the leader of the Hamas group, designated a terrorist group by the United States, who was the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the current war.

Standing on the tarmac minutes after landing in Germany on Thursday night, Biden referred to the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli troops, calling it “a good day for the world.” “.

“Now is the time to move on,” he said. “Move forward, move toward a ceasefire in Gaza, make sure we move in a direction where we can make things better for everyone. It’s time for this war to end and we bring these hostages home.”

Biden said he would send Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Israel to discuss plans for the next day.

Kirby said the administration’s priority is to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

“The president believes that, without a doubt, with the assassination of Sinwar yesterday, there is a unique opportunity that we can all take advantage of, to see what we can do to end the war and achieve a ceasefire. And we still believe that a ceasefire in the north as well, but we still believe that a ceasefire is important for Gaza for those hostages to come home.”

For Germany, this frenetic one-day visit – which included a brief meeting with a 102-year-old Holocaust survivor, Margot Friedlander – was full of meaning and history.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier – who awarded Biden the nation’s highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Special Class Order of Merit of Germany – began his reflection on the importance of Biden’s visit with an anecdote from early The 1980s, when a young US senator visited Bonn, then the capital of the divided nation.

In true German style, Steinmeier joked, the bureaucrat accompanying the 40-year-old senator took copious notes, saying he was “very interested” in Germany, and concluding that the young senator could have a “significant political future.”

“What a remarkable understatement,” Steinmeier said before pinning the gold eight-point star to the lapel of Biden’s suit. “Today, you are the 46th president of the United States, and under your leadership, the transatlantic alliance is stronger and our partnership is closer than ever.”

Steinmeier continued: “Perhaps the most precious service to democracy, the most joyful and comforting thing for people is to know that even this most powerful man in the world is, in the end, a fundamentally decent human being.”

The Voice of America asked White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan if part of Biden’s mission in Germany was to protect foreign policy against a possible Donald Trump presidency.

“What the president is trying to do is make our commitment to Ukraine sustainable and institutionalized for the long term. And all the other allies agreed that that was responsible,” Sullivan concluded.

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