Luis Ayllón
The White House confirmed last night that US President Joe Biden will hold bilateral meetings with His Majesty the King and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during his stay in Spain for the NATO Summit in Madrid.
Biden will first travel to Germany to participate in the G7 summit that begins this Sunday, 26th, and on Tuesday 28th he will travel to the Spanish capital. Yesterday he had a telephone conversation with Sánchez to discuss the Atlantic meeting in Madrid and their upcoming bilateral meeting.
Sánchez gave an account on Twitter of the conversation with Biden, which took place at Biden’s request and lasted about 20 minutes, indicating that the US President thanked Spain for its efforts in organising the summit. The Prime Minister stressed that it was “a historic event in which the Alliance will strengthen its unity and cohesion, in defence of democracy and freedom”.
Moncloa sources added that they also discussed the situation of the war in Ukraine and the requests for NATO membership from Sweden and Finland, an issue that will be addressed at a meeting at which the allies will approve a new Strategic Concept.
The White House issued a press release stating that the two leaders discussed preparations for the summit and welcomed “the opportunity to see each other on the upcoming trip”.
The note adds that Biden thanked Sánchez for Spain’s hosting of the summit “where the Allies,” it says, “will continue to chart the course for NATO’s transformation over the next decade”.
It further notes that Biden expressed his appreciation “for Spain’s close cooperation in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, including its provision of security and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its support for strong sanctions on Russia”.
The summit will be the occasion for Biden’s first visit to Spain, where he will have a bilateral meeting with Sánchez, which could take place on Tuesday 28th, when he is due to arrive in Madrid.
The head of the Spanish government has not yet been able to hold a face-to-face conversation of any length with Biden and has not visited the White House before the summit, as the leaders of the countries where the meeting of allies is held usually do. This was the case, for example, in 1997 when the summit was first held in Madrid. At the end of April 1997, the then Prime Minister of Spain, José María Aznar, travelled to Washington where he was received by President Bill Clinton a couple of months before the Summit.
Clinton took advantage of the Atlantic meeting to travel a few days earlier with his wife, Hillary, to Mallorca at the invitation of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, with whom he sailed the Mediterranean. Aznar and his wife, Ana Botella, also took part in the trip.
On this occasion, Felipe VI, who already knows Biden from his time as Vice President, will have a bilateral meeting with him, beyond the dinner that the King will host at the Royal Palace on the evening of the 28th for the leaders attending the Summit.
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