PARIS — Amid signs that Americans are tired of sending weapons to Ukraine after two years of war, President Joe Biden will meet this week with other world leaders looking for new ways to get aid to the country as he fight to defend itself from the Russian invasion.
Biden will participate in a three-day meeting in Apulia, Italy, of the Group of Seven, or G7, the organization made up of the world’s largest industrialized nations, where a major topic will be the use of $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to strengthen the Ukraine. on the battlefield, according to the White House.
Biden and his counterparts largely agree on the merits of seizing Russian assets to help finance Ukraine’s effort, although there is friction over how best to do so, a person familiar with U.S. planning for the summit said.
The Biden administration wanted to use principal and interest from Russia’s assets to help pay for the war, while European nations favored using interest only, the person said. With Ukraine in urgent need of more weapons, the Biden administration is prepared to compromise and embrace the path preferred by European leaders, the source added.
One option under consideration is for the G7 countries – the others are France, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany – to provide Ukraine with around $50 billion up front and then recoup the money in interest income over the years. next 10 years.
Biden suggested he had made progress toward reaching a deal during his trip to France last week commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Speaking to reporters at a First World War cemetery outside Paris, he was asked whether he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about the use of frozen Russian assets and whether the two had reached an agreement.
“Yes and yes,” Biden said, without providing further details.
Biden spent much of his five-day trip to France advocating for strengthening Ukraine. Just as the US and its allies helped defeat the Nazis in World War II, democratic nations must be determined to help defend Ukraine and demonstrate to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he cannot expand his reign by force, argued Biden.
If he wins Ukraine, an emboldened Putin could very well invade Poland and other NATO countries, Biden said, potentially triggering a broader and more deadly conflict.
In Paris, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced a $225 million weapons package that includes air defense interceptors and artillery munitions. He is expected to meet Zelenskyy again during the G7 conference.
“We want each country to adopt a method by which we can mobilize resources to Ukraine on a scale that allows them to have what they need to be successful in this war,” White House official Jake Sullivan said. national security advisor said at a recent press conference.
Although Biden has repeatedly told Americans that it is in the country’s interest to help Ukraine, public support for the war is waning, polls show.
More than 40% of U.S. adults believed the U.S. was not providing enough aid to Ukraine in March 2022, a month after Russia’s invasion, according to Pew Research Center Survey. Two years later, that number fell by almost 20 points.
The percentage of U.S. adults who believe Biden’s argument that Russia poses a threat to other countries in the region fell from 59% to 48% over a two-year period ending in April, the Pew poll found.
Even as many Americans de-escalate the war, Biden also faces pressure to step up efforts to help Ukraine. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday on CBS ‘“Face the nation” that the US should train Ukrainian forces inside that country and allow Zelenskyy’s forces to attack targets inside Russia.
Brett Bruen, who was director of global engagement in Barack Obama’s White House, said in an interview that he would also like Biden to send U.S. military trainers to Ukraine.
“The advantage of having coaches on the ground in Ukraine far outweighs any risk and is something we are doing in much less strategically important locations,” Bruen said.
“I’m not suggesting we throw tens of thousands of Americans into Ukraine, but it does require us to review some of these restrictive rules” that the Biden administration has put in place, he added.
While war is likely to be a dominant issue, G7 leaders will also talk about the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and what they see as China’s practice of flooding global markets with its products. A special guest will be present at the summit: Pope Francis.
Making back-to-back trips to Europe would exhaust any president, but it could be especially tiring for Biden, who is 81 years old. He also faces a family crisis.
On Tuesday, the day before his departure, a jury found his son Hunter Biden guilty of all three felony gun charges he faced at a federal trial in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden and his son are especially close, and the president will need some emotional armor to maintain his focus during the summit, people who worked with him said.
William Cohen, a former Republican senator from Maine who served with Biden on Capitol Hill, said he believes Biden “will be prepared for this” in Italy.
“You go through family structures and you will always find a problem. He has to leave this behind,” Cohen said.
The presidential election is expected to take place during Biden’s private meetings with his counterparts. He told Time magazine In a recent interview, he is frequently asked about former President Donald Trump by foreign leaders who, he says, confide in him that they fear Trump’s possible return.
But leaders may also be making their own quiet assessment of Biden and whether he looks like someone who can win one last race.
“European leaders will be paying close attention to Biden and what he says and does,” said Keith Kellogg, who was a senior national security official in the Trump White House. “They’ll be watching the visuals.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
