Biden shares drink with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before heading for tea with King Charles
President Biden went on a tea tour of the UK Monday, starting with a cup with leader Rishi Sunak in the garden of 10 Downing Street — before heading for more with King Charles III to make up for skipping his coronation.
Biden, 80, landed in London late Sunday to kick off a three-nation trip that will include a NATO summit in Lithuania aimed at showing solidarity with Ukraine against the ongoing war raged by its neighbor Russia.
He started Monday with his first visit to 10 Downing Street as president — but his sixth meeting with Sunak, 43, since the latter became prime minister in October.
“Couldn’t be meeting with a closer friend or greater ally,” Biden said as he and the UK leader drank from special Downing Street mugs, quipping that they’ve “only been meeting once a month.”
The meeting came after Sunak recently made clear he disapproved of Biden sending Ukraine cluster munitions, which have been barred by most NATO members because of the threat to civilian life.
Sunak said on Saturday that “the UK is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use.”
Still, despite this, he stressed at Monday’s meeting that the UK and US remain “two of the firmest allies in that alliance” — while Biden called the nation’s longstanding special relationship “rock solid.”
After leaving Downing Street, Biden left for more tea, this time with the new king.
Biden had promised Charles, 74, in a phone call that he would visit soon after skipping his coronation in May, which was instead attended by First Lady Jill Biden.
The president is expected to be greeted with royal pomp later Monday, including a royal salute, a viewing of US-related artifacts at Windsor Castle and then teatime for the two men.
Unlike potentially testy discussions with Sunak over Ukraine and Biden’s decision to send weapons that could risk citizens’ lives, the meeting with the king is expected to focus on combating climate change, a threat both leaders say is existential.
“The president has huge respect for the king’s commitment on the climate issue in particular, that he has been a clarion voice on this issue and more than that, has been an actor, someone who’s mobilized action and effort,” Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, told reporters on Air Force One. “So the president comes at this with enormous goodwill.”
After his UK visit, Biden will again be joined by Sunak as the two leaders attend the NATO summit in Lithuania, which kicks off on Tuesday and will be dominated by the Ukraine crisis.
The final leg of his trip will be from Thursday in Finland, which is the newest member of NATO.
With Post wires
