NATO, Ukraine top Biden's meet agenda

WASHINGTON — The White House is gearing up for a meeting that US President Joe Biden is holding with a key European ally this week, while concluding one focusing on NATO partnership and Ukraine support despite its own domestic woes.

Biden welcomed Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday and talked of the country's role in a Western alliance "standing up" for Ukraine.

Neither mentioned the F-16 agreement in their brief remarks before reporters at the start of the meeting, but the White House, in a statement following the talks, noted Denmark's "significant security assistance to Ukraine and its leadership in training Ukrainian pilots".

Frederiksen, on her part, thanked Biden for leading the transatlantic alliance.

Frederiksen said on Monday she is not vying for NATO's top job, after an Oval Office sit-down with Biden and a separate meeting with CIA Director William Burns.

"I've said before that I am not a candidate for any other job than the one I have now, and this has not changed after my meeting with the US president," Frederiksen told reporters outside the White House.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is due to step down from his position later this year after two terms.

Speculation about Frederiksen as a serious contender for the job has intensified since her name first surfaced publicly in a report by the Norwegian newspaper VG last month.

Frederiksen told reporters she had met with Burns during her trip to Washington, but did not give further details.

Her meeting with Biden was scheduled to take 45 minutes but lasted about two hours.

The Oval Office visit was the first of a pair of critical meetings Biden is holding with European allies this week that will also include the meeting on Thursday with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Sunak, ahead of a US trip this week, on Monday heightened speculation that he wants NATO allies to back his Defense Secretary Ben Wallace as the alliance's next chief.

Leading contender

Wallace, a former captain in the British Army, is seen as a leading contender to replace Stoltenberg.

Sunak is reportedly set to personally lobby Biden to back Wallace for the role, during a visit to Washington on Wednesday and Thursday.

The United States is the dominant force in the 31-member military alliance, and its endorsement is crucial for whoever takes the top job, Agence France-Presse reported.

Asked whether he would push in Washington for Wallace's appointment, Sunak did not directly answer but heaped praise on his 53-year-old cabinet colleague. "Ben does a fantastic job. He is a great defense secretary," he told reporters, noting that conversations around the NATO role were "happening among leaders".

Last month, Wallace appeared to show an interest in the NATO post, telling the German news agency DPA that it's "a job I'd like".

Both Britain and Denmark are playing a pivotal role in the joint plan that Biden recently endorsed after months of resisting calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for US aircraft.

Denmark has purchased dozens of US-made F-16s since the 1970s and has indicated it is open to the possibility of providing Ukraine with some. Britain strongly advocated for a coalition to supply Ukraine with fighter planes, and says it will support Ukraine getting the F-16s it wants. But the UK does not have any F-16s, and has ruled out sending Royal Air Force Typhoon jets.

Instead, Britain says it will give Ukrainian pilots basic training on Western-standard jets starting in early summer to prepare them to fly F-16s. The Ukrainian pilots will then go on to other countries for the next stages of training.

Biden's separate meetings with the leaders of two key NATO allies come at a time when the US is struggling with the debt limit crisis. Biden on Saturday signed a bill that suspends the US government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, averting what would have been a first-ever default.

While a US default on its debt has been averted, the possibility of another credit rating downgrade remains, Reuters reported.

Fitch Ratings said on Friday the US' AAA credit rating would remain on negative watch despite the agreement that will allow the government to meet its obligations.

Agencies Via Xinhua