In the wake of Hurricane Milton’s impact on Florida, President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw from an international summit in Germany, which has also led to the cancellation of plans by other world leaders to attend. The primary focus of this summit was Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was set to present a “victory plan” aimed at rallying support from Western allies.
Organizers announced the postponement of the gathering, initially scheduled to convene about 20 leaders at the U.S. Ramstein airbase, after Biden expressed his need to stay home and manage the ongoing situation in Florida.
In a significant shift, Zelenskyy is now planning to travel to Berlin for a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, possibly extending his trip to engage with additional European leaders in what sources are describing as a “European tour.”
German officials have indicated that a new meeting involving leaders to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine will be planned soon. However, it remains unclear whether this will occur before the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November, where Biden’s challenger, Donald Trump, who has voiced skepticism about military aid, will face off against a more supportive Kamala Harris.
Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesperson for the German government, remarked, “It is true that the national security advisers are in close contact and are coordinating closely regarding Ukraine… A face-to-face meeting and exchange of views should happen soon.”
Originally, the Ramstein summit was poised to be a highlight of Biden’s four-day trip to Germany, where Zelenskyy intended to advocate for the use of long-range missiles against targets within Russia and request additional air defense systems to counter Moscow’s aggression. The summit was also seen as a crucial opportunity for Ukraine to suggest a path toward ending the conflict. However, with Russia gradually gaining ground in eastern Ukraine, the likelihood of a definitive peace strategy remains uncertain, particularly in light of a potential Trump victory in the upcoming election, which could lead to a significant cut in military support.
There were also talks that the summit could pave the way for Ukraine’s eventual membership in NATO, although immediate membership and direct military assistance were not expected. Key figures like U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were anticipated to attend, but with Biden’s withdrawal, their participation now hangs in the balance. Additionally, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda had already opted out on Wednesday, ahead of the official announcement regarding the summit’s postponement.
