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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

Biden to discuss Ukraine, Middle East with allies on farewell trip to Berlin

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) gave the US President Joe Biden a military honour guard to officially launch his one-day visit to Germany. AP - Ebrahim Noroozi

President Joe Biden will discuss the war in Ukraine war and conflict in the Middle East with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron as well as the German and British leaders Olaf Scholz and Keir Starmer during a one-day visit to Berlin.

Biden, 81, arrived in the German capital on Thursday night for what is likely to be his last official visit as the American president.

Before private talks with Scholz, Biden received an award for his contributions to relations between the two countries.

The men will be joined by Macron and Starmer.

"The key question is the nature of security guarantees and so that's what we will talk about," Macron said.

Biden and Scholz plan to discuss the next steps in Ukraine and developments in Israel and Gaza after the killing of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a key figure behind the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 254 taken hostage.

Breakthrough

Macron praised Israel's military success and reiterated French demands for the release of all hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

"I hope that a credible political perspective for both Israelis and Palestinians will now be opened," Macron said shortly after a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.

However, their meeting will be overshadowed by the possibility of Donald Trump winning a second term as US president.

During his first four years in the White House between 2017 and 2021, Trump ruffled the feathers of his European allies with declarations about reducing American commitments to the NATO defence pact.

As part of his election campaign, Trump has signalled he would be reluctant to continue support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

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