Obama arrives in Brussels for EU-US summit

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Obama will hold his first-ever summit talks in Brussels with the EU's top officials on Wednesday, March 26

OBAMA. US President Barack Obama addresses the media during a press conference at the closure of the Nuclear Security Summit 2014 in The Hague 25 March 2014. Photo by Toussaint Kluiters/EPA

BRUSSELS, Belgium – US President Barack Obama arrived Tuesday, March 25, in Brussels for his first visit to European Union headquarters, where he is expected to cement US-EU opposition to Russia’s takeover of Crimea and accelerate mega trade talks.

Air Force One flew in to the Belgian capital from The Hague, where Obama took part in a G7 meeting on Ukraine and a nuclear security summit earlier in the day.

Belgium’s King Philippe and Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo welcomed Obama at the airport before he was whisked off in an armoured limousine.

Viewed as the most important trip to Europe by a US president in years because of the Crimea crisis, Obama will hold his first-ever summit talks in Brussels with the EU’s top officials Wednesday, a move seen as an ice-breaker.

He will also meet NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and give a speech on transatlantic relations.

Obama will spend less than 24 hours in Belgium, including a helicopter trip to an American World War I cemetery in Flanders.

Though the Belgian capital is accustomed to EU and NATO summits, security was exceptionally tight and swathes of the city were cordoned off as the US delegation of 900 people, including 200 security personnel and some 40 vehicles, swamped the city center.

A key moment Wednesday will be a speech by Obama before 2,000 guests in one of the city’s most popular museums, dedicated to transatlantic ties.

A senior White House official said the speech would provide an opportunity for Obama “to step back and look at the current events in Ukraine in a broader context”.

“Standing at the heart of Europe, in Brussels, the centre of the European project, he’ll be able to speak about the importance of European security.”

He would evoke “the importance of not just the danger to the people of Ukraine but the danger to the international system that Europe and the United States have invested so much in, consequent of Russia’s actions,” the official said.

Obama leaves Wednesday evening for Italy and the Vatican, where he will meet Pope Francis, then heads to Saudi Arabia. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!