ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: President Joe Biden and President Volodymyr Zelensky will sign a bilateral security agreement between the US and Ukraine on Thursday when they meet on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy, aiming to send signal to Russia of American resolve to supporting Kyiv, the White House said as Biden was headed to Europe.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the agreement would not commit US troops directly to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion — a red line drawn by Biden, who is fearful of being drawn into direct conflict between the nuclear-armed powers.
The announcement of the agreement comes as Biden heads to the summit of the world’s leading democracies with an urgency to get big things done, including turning frozen Russian assets into billions of dollars to help Ukraine as it fights off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
“We want to demonstrate that the US supports the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them and that we’ll continue to help address their security needs,” Sullivan said, adding “this agreement will show our resolve.”
This year’s meeting comes three years after Biden declared at his first such gathering that America was back as a global leader following the disruptions to Western alliances that occurred when Donald Trump was president. Now, there’s a chance this gathering could be the final G7 for Biden and other G7 leaders, depending on the results of elections this year.
Biden and his counterparts from Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan will use the summit to discuss challenges related to the spread of artificial intelligence, migration, the Russian military’s resurgence and China’s economic might, among other topics. Pope Francis, Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are joining the gathering at the Borgo Egnazia resort in the Puglia region of southern Italy.
The summit, which opens Thursday, will play out after far-right parties across the continent racked up gains of surprising scale in just-concluded European Union elections. Those victories, coupled with upcoming elections in the United Kingdom, France and the United States, have rattled the global political establishment and added weightiness to this year’s summit.
“You hear this a lot when you talk to US and European officials: If we can’t get this done now, whether it’s on China, whether it’s on the assets, we may not have another chance,” said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center, an international affairs think tank. “We don’t know what the world will look like three months, six months, nine months from now.”
The G7 is an informal bloc of industrialized democracies that meets annually to discuss shared issues and concerns. Biden is set to arrive in Italy on Wednesday night, his second trip outside the US in as many weeks. The Democratic president was in France last week for a state visit in Paris and ceremonies in Normandy marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II.
While last week’s visit had a celebratory feel, this one will be dominated by pressing global issues, including how to keep financial support flowing to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion. Biden’s trip also comes one day after his son Hunter was convicted on federal gun charges, a blow sure to weigh heavily on the president’s mind.
Despite pressing global challenges, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said there is still a sense of relief among world leaders in 2024 that “America was back,” referencing Biden’s 2021 speech at the G7 in Cornwall, England.
“Biden’s message then was that democracies need to step up and show they can deliver for their people,” Kirby said. “That’s true now more than ever.”
Kirby said the US was prepared to work with democratically elected officials in the EU no matter who they are, though some of those being elevated have expressed far less support for Ukraine than current leaders.
“We have every confidence that regardless of who fills the seats in the European Parliament, we’re going to continue to work closely with our EU partners on all the issues relative to our shared interests across the European continent,” Kirby said. “That includes supporting Ukraine.”
Biden and Zelensky, who met last week in Paris, will meet again Thursday on the sidelines of the summit to discuss continued support for the Eastern European nation, which is trying to fend off an intense Russian offensive in eastern areas of the country. They are expected to hold a joint news conference. Biden is also expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the pope and other leaders.
Biden, who has been adamant that “we will not walk away” from Ukraine, last week publicly apologized to Zelensky for a monthslong delay by Congress in authorizing additional American military assistance. The delay allowed Russia to make gains on the battlefield.
Sullivan called the security agreement a “bridge” to when Ukraine is invited to join the NATO alliance — a long-term priority of Zelensky’s that the allies have said will first require an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Biden’s back-to-back trips to France and Italy amount to a rare doubleheader of diplomacy in the midst of the presidential election. The president will skip a Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland this weekend to jet to Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser with big names from Hollywood. Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the US at the conference.
Despite the delays in military aid, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced it would send Ukraine another Patriot missile system to help fend off Russian strikes, two US officials told The Associated Press. Biden approved the move, the officials told the AP, as Kyiv has desperately called for more air defenses in its battle against an intense Russian assault on the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Kirby said the US would use the G7 summit to announce fresh sanctions and export control actions targeting those who have helped Russia procure what it needs for the war. He said the new measures would make it harder for financiers to support Russia’s defense mechanism.
Ukraine and many of its supporters have called for the confiscation of $260 billion in Russian assets frozen outside the country after the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion. But European officials have resisted, citing legal and financial stability concerns. Most of the frozen assets are located in Europe.
A European plan to just use the interest on the Russian funds would provide only a trickle of money every year — about $2.5 billion to $3 billion at current interest rates, which would barely meet a month’s financing needs for the Ukrainian government.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said recently that G7 finance ministers have been discussing the possibility of extending a loan to Ukraine and using the windfall profits of assets seized in Europe to pay it off.
Kirby said the US was optimistic the group could agree on the matter.
Biden is also expected to discuss economic concerns brought on by Chinese manufacturing overcapacity, how to use artificial intelligence in a way that maximizes benefits but still manages national security risks, and global migration.
The US and other G7 nations are struggling to manage large influxes of migrants arriving for complicated reasons that include war, climate change and drought. Migration, and how nations cope with the growing numbers at their borders, has been a factor driving the far-right rise in some of Europe.
Biden and Zelensky will sign security agreement between US and Ukraine when they meet at G7
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Biden and Zelensky will sign security agreement between US and Ukraine when they meet at G7
- National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the agreement would not commit US troops directly to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion
- “We want to demonstrate that the US supports the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them and that we’ll continue to help address their security needs,” Sullivan said
Poland says a Russian helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea
WARSAW: A Russian military helicopter of the Baltic Fleet violated Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, the Polish Armed Forces said on X on Saturday.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defense systems,” they added.
Trump will pay his respects to a pope who publicly and pointedly disagreed with him on some issues
- The president and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Rome late Friday for the service at St. Peter’s Basilica
- The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Hungary and Argentina are among those expected to attend
ROME: President Donald Trump will be among more than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries attending Saturday’s funeral for Pope Francis, where he’ll personally pay his respects to the Roman Catholic leader who pointedly disagreed with him on a variety of issues.
Trump told reporters he was going to the funeral “out of respect” for the pontiff, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88.
The president and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Rome late Friday for the service at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday morning. Francis will be laid to rest during a private burial at St. Mary Major Basilica outside the Vatican’s walls.
Francis sharply disagreed with Trump’s approach on issues including immigration, the treatment of migrants and climate change. The Argentine pontiff and the American president sparred early in their relationship over immigration. In 2016, Francis, alluding to then-candidate Trump and his campaign slogan of “Build the wall,” called anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants ” not Christian.” Trump said the comment was “disgraceful.”
But after Francis’ death, the Republican president praised him as a “good man” who “worked hard” and “loved the world.” Trump also directed that US flags be flown at half-staff in Francis’ honor.
Trump had said on a couple of occasions before leaving Washington that he would have “a lot” of meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the funeral. But he seemed to back away from that as he flew to Rome.
“Frankly, it’s a little disrespectful to have meetings when you’re at the funeral of a pope,” the president told reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One. Nonetheless, Trump said: “I’ll be talking to people. I’ll be seeing a lot of people.”
The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Hungary and Argentina are among those expected to attend.
One person Trump didn’t expect to interact with is former President Joe Biden, who planned to attend the funeral with his wife, Jill. Trump said he wasn’t aware his Democratic predecessor would be at the funeral. Asked if they’d meet, Trump said: “It’s not high on my list. It’s really not.”
The pope’s funeral will not be one of those occasions that bring together the current and former US presidents. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush are not attending, their offices said. A spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton did not respond to an inquiry about his plans.
Trump didn’t elaborate when asked if he’d just be meeting leaders in passing or holding more in-depth talks. He suggested he might have meetings at Villa Taverna, the US ambassador’s residence, where he spent the night.
“It’s a little tough because we don’t have much time,” Trump said, noting his late arrival in Rome. He was scheduled to head back to the United States immediately after the funeral.
“I think that we’re going to try and see a couple of people that are important in what we’re doing,” said Trump, who is trying to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and negotiate trade agreements with multiple countries.
He posted on Truth Social shortly after arriving in Rome that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high level talks” on ending the bloody three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome on Saturday to attend the funeral, his press office confirmed, joining first lady Olena Zelenska. Putin is not attending.
Ukrainian president arrives in Rome for papal funeral
PARIS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Rome where he will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, a Ukrainian presidential spokesman said on Saturday.
Pope Francis’ funeral begins at St. Peter's Square
- As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral Saturday
- Francis choreographed the ceremony himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s funeral rites and rituals last year
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis' funeral begins. Presidents and princes will attend his funeral in St. Peter’s Square, but prisoners and migrants will usher him into the basilica where he will be buried.
As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral, which Francis choreographed himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year. His aim was to emphasize the pope’s role as a mere priest and not “a powerful man of this world,” the Vatican said.
It was a reflection of Francis’ 12-year project to radically reform the papacy, to emphasize its pastors as servants, and to construct “a poor church for the poor.” It was a mission he articulated just days after his 2013 election and explained the name he chose as pope, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, “who had the heart of the poor of the world,” according to the official decree of the pope’s life that was placed in his coffin Friday night.
Nevertheless, the powerful will be in attendance Saturday. US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, the UN chief and European Union leaders are joining Prince William and the Spanish royal family in leading official delegations. Argentine President Javier Milei had the pride of place given Francis’ Argentine nationality, even if the two didn’t particularly get along and Francis alienated many Argentines by never returning home.
Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica, near Rome’s main train station, where a simple underground tomb awaits him with just his name: Franciscus. As many as 300,000 people are expected to line the 4-kilometer (2.5 mile) motorcade route that will bring Francis’ casket from the Vatican through the center of Rome to the basilica after the funeral.
Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah are due today to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, died Easter Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke while recovering at home from pneumonia.
With his funeral, preparations can now begin in earnest to host the centuries-old process of electing a new pope, a conclave that will likely begin in the first week of May. In the interim, the Vatican is being run by a handful of cardinals, key among them Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals who is presiding at the funeral and organizing the secret voting in the Sistine Chapel.
Crowds waited hours in line to pay their respects to Francis.
Over three days this week, more than 250,000 people stood for hours in line to pay their final respects while Francis’ body lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican kept the doors open through the night to accommodate them.
“He was an excellent, humble person who changed many laws and always for the better,” said a pilgrim from his native Argentina, Augustin Angelicola, as he waited on line. “Now it is a sad thing for the whole world that all this has happened. We did not expect it, it had to happen but not so soon.”
But even with the expanded hours, it wasn’t enough. When the Vatican closed the doors to the general public at 7 p.m. on Friday, mourners were turned away in droves.
Even before he became pope, Francis had a particular affection for St. Mary Major. It is home to a Byzantine-style icon of the Madonna, the Salus Popoli Romani, to which Francis was particularly devoted, such that he would go pray before it before and after each of his foreign trips as pope.
He decided to have his tomb located in a niche next to the chapel housing the icon, with a reproduction of his simple silver pectoral cross over the marble tombstone.
The choice of the basilica is also symbolically significant given its ties to Francis’ Jesuit religious order. St. Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuits, celebrated his first Mass in the basilica on Christmas Day in 1538.
The Vatican said 40 special guests would greet his casket on the piazza in front of the basilica, reflecting the marginalized groups Francis prioritized pope: homeless people and migrants, prisoners.
“The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” the Vatican quoted Francis as saying in explaining the choice. The actual burial will be private, presided over by cardinals and a few close aides.
Italy is deploying more than 2,500 police and 1,500 soldiers to provide security, which also includes stationing a torpedo ship off the coast, and putting squads of fighter jets on standby, Italian media reported.
