President Joe Biden begins visit to France

2024-06-05 17:02:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, arrived in France on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the landing of Allied forces in Normandy. He also plans to emphasize during the visit the need for a strong transatlantic alliance in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

President Biden will meet with the president of Ukraine and U.S. veterans of the 1944 invasion of Normandy, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. President Biden will speak, as Mr. Sullivan said, about the sacrifices made by heroes and veterans 80 years ago. Mr. Sullivan also emphasized that the President will emphasize that "it is our obligation to continue their mission to fight for freedom."

Mr. Sullivan, who spoke to reporters aboard the plane en route to Paris, said President Biden will also give a speech on Friday in Normandy. During the speech, the President will talk about the "existential struggle between dictatorship and freedom".

Soldiers had to move under enemy fire to win the battle that eventually led to the liberation of France and the end of Nazi Germany.

"He will talk about the danger of actions that lead to isolation and the danger that if we submit to dictators and do not confront them, they will continue and America and the whole world will pay a high price," he said.

President Biden will also attend a state reception hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. He will also have a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been invited to the ceremonies commemorating the decisive battle that ended World War II.

American presidents regularly attend ceremonies marking this anniversary.

"The President will go to Normandy to commemorate the sacrifices and bravery of the soldiers, Allied and American, who fought that day, participating in Operation Overlord that led to the end of Nazi Germany. This operation also marked the beginning of a rules-based international order that we all continue to enjoy today," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told VOA at the White House.

Here, analysts say, history teaches lessons.

"The landings were the Western Allies' military statement that authoritarian regimes could not change borders by force," says Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine colonel and adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "He conveyed the message that countries cannot be conquered and that authoritarian regimes of the type of Nazi Germany, the terrible oppression of peoples, especially Jews, were not only unacceptable, but would not be allowed to happen."

Analysts say Mr. Biden's goals for Ukraine will be overshadowed by yet another conflict that he has fueled resentment.

"Although Ukraine is clearly the top priority for Europeans, they are seeing how President Biden's administration's policy on Gaza is undermining European security in two different ways," says Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute.

"First of all, this is destroying the credibility that the wider international community and the countries of the southern part of the world have with the West. Any talk of a rules-based international order would not be taken seriously, given what President Biden's administration has done."

This trip to France, a close ally of Washington, is taking place shortly before the holding of several high-level meetings, including the Peace Conference on Ukraine. The leaders of the Group of 7 most developed countries of the world are expected to gather there. Afterwards, a high-level NATO meeting will be held.

VOA asked Mr. Sullivan about the importance of these diplomatic meetings for peace in Europe and beyond.

"I think we need to send a clear message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that he cannot succeed or cause a rift between us," he replied. "These are two messages that we have made more than clear, from which we will not give up. This will be an excellent opportunity in the coming weeks to strongly reiterate our message"./ VOA