WASHINGTON (AP) — It Vice President Kamala Harrisdo not have President Joe BidenHe will join world leaders in Switzerland on Saturday and meet one-on-one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss his country’s vision for ending nuclear war. A fierce war started by Russia.
Biden will hold a three-day G7 Summit He met with President Zelensky in Italy and then flew straight to Los Angeles for a fundraiser on Saturday night. Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
His decision to skip Summit on Ukraine this weekend It focuses on the competing election-year demands Biden faces as he faces off against the former president, balancing complex domestic and foreign policy issues. Donald TrumpIt also reflects Harris’ growing support for Biden’s second term as president. 2024 election campaign heats up.
“Being vice president means you take a lot of hits for your team,” Matt Bennett, a former aide to Vice President Al Gore, said ahead of Harris’ planned 28-hour round trip from Washington to Switzerland. “So far, these moments on the international stage have been good for her. She looks presidential and very competent among world leaders.”
Zelenskiy has publicly urged Biden and other world leaders for months to attend the summit, even warning that their absence would further embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 28-month war with Ukraine.
But Biden ultimately The decision was made to send Harris. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will represent the administration in Switzerland.
“Skippling the summit is a missed opportunity for the president and the United States,” said Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center for Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington. “That said, sending the vice president and national security adviser is not exactly the same as sending a junior volleyball team.”
Biden has been increasingly leaning on Harris as he seeks to rebuild the coalition of voters that helped him defeat Trump in 2020 and will likely need them again to win a second term. Harris has taken on a more visible role in pitching Biden to diverse segments of the Democratic base.
she Visit to an abortion clinic in Minneapolis She has launched an effort to highlight the administration’s record on the issue, with a particular focus on minority communities and to highlight economic progress under Biden.
And she traveled around the country speaking out about issues like: Marijuana Laws Gun violence weakens Biden’s standing in the coalition that catapulted him to the White House. Signs of erosion are visibleShe visited Atlanta on Friday to tout the administration’s economic policies before boarding Air Force Two for a late-night flight to Switzerland.
“She brings three things to the list that Biden doesn’t have: she’s relatively young, she’s a woman and she’s a person of color,” said Bennett, now vice president of the left-leaning Washington think tank Third Way, “but more importantly, she’s regaining what made her nationally famous: her incredible ability to pursue the case against Trump.”
But like Biden, Harris’s popularity among the American public is declining. A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 4 in 10 voters have a somewhat favorable or very favorable view of Harris. About half have a somewhat favorable or very unfavorable view, and about 1 in 10 say they don’t know her well enough to make a judgment. Harris’ favorability rating is about the same as Biden’s.
The Trump campaign has criticised Harris as its surrogate in Switzerland, with spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt saying the vice president has “failed every task she has been given” and “will continue to embarrass our country with her meeting with Ukraine.”
Trump and his allies have at times criticized Harris, suggesting that a vote for Biden is effectively a vote for Harris to eventually become president.
In explaining Biden’s decision to skip the summit, the White House noted that the president spoke with Zelensky twice in one week: on the sidelines of the G7 summit and again in the week prior. When they were both in France Commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
During the summit in Switzerland, Harris plans to focus on the importance of protecting and strengthening the post-World War II norm under which the United States and its allies reject the use of force to change territorial borders.
“It’s a high-profile moment,” said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who heads the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “American voters are paying attention to how someone performs on the world stage.”
The talks are expected to focus primarily on three issues on which there is broad agreement: food security, nuclear security and the repatriation of prisoners of war and children captured during the war and taken to Russia.
Russia was not invited to what Ukraine called a “peace summit.” Putin himself said on Friday: Order ceasefire in Ukraine “immediately” The talks would begin if Kiev withdraws its troops from four territories annexed by Moscow in 2022 and abandons plans to join NATO. Ukraine has slammed Putin’s proposals as “manipulative” and “unreasonable.”
Biden may have eased disappointment over his absence from the Swiss meeting with a series of announcements in recent weeks aimed at furthering support for Ukraine.
G7 leaders this week announced a $50 billion loan package for Kiev that would leverage interest and revenues from more than $260 billion in frozen Russian assets.
And on Thursday, Biden and Zelensky signed a security pact The agreement commits the United States to continue training the Ukrainian military over the next 10 years, strengthening cooperation in the production of weapons and military equipment, and increasing intelligence sharing.
Biden also endorsed send Ukraine Zelenskiy had asked the United States and Western allies for more Patriot missile systems as Kiev struggles to defend itself against a Russian attack on Ukraine. Power grid and Private Areasas well as military targets.
And late last month, President Biden Using American weapons Attack Within RussiaThis would allow attacks on Russia for the limited purpose of defending Russia’s second largest city. KharkovIt is located 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border and has come under attack from within Russia.
As US military operations intensify in 2024, Ukrainian officials are watching with a degree of uncertainty about the future of US support in their war with Russia.
President Trump was skeptical of additional military aid to Ukraine, and at one point “An endless stream of American treasure.” He recently Lend money Rather, he said, Ukrainian independence is important to the United States.
Zelenskiy made clear during a visit to Italy on Thursday that sustained support from Washington remains a top priority.
“I think the question is: How long will the unity between the United States and European leaders last?'” Zelensky said. “I’m convinced that if Ukraine cannot hold on, then many democracies will not hold on either.”
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Associated Press writer Amelia Thomson DeVoe contributed to this report.
