US President Joe Biden arrived in the southern Italian city of Brindisi on Thursday, where he was greeted by local officials and dignitaries. The American leader traveled to the region of Puglia to attend the annual G7 summit, a gathering of the world’s most industrialized nations.
The three-day conference in the coastal town of Schloss Elmau is expected to be dominated by discussions on providing continued support to war-ravaged Ukraine, as the country enters its fourth month of fending off the Russian invasion. Biden and other G7 leaders will work to coordinate their nations‘ military, economic and humanitarian aid to Kyiv, as Ukraine’s forces battle to reclaim territory seized by Russian troops.
In addition to the Ukraine crisis, the G7 summit agenda will also focus on diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Biden is slated to meet with other world leaders to push for a resolution to the latest flare-up of violence in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has left scores dead and thousands displaced in recent weeks.
The US president’s trip to Italy marks his first overseas visit since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February. Biden is expected to leverage the influential G7 platform to rally greater international support and resources for Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty, while also seeking to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East through diplomatic channels.