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Biden arrives in UK ahead of NATO summit, Finland visit

Ahead of the trip, US President Joe Biden urges caution for now on Ukraine's drive to join NATO, saying the alliance could get drawn into the war with Russia due to NATO's mutual defence pact.

AP

Biden's trip comes days after he agreed to send controversial US cluster munitions to Ukraine. / Photo: AP

US President Joe Biden has arrived in Britain where he will meet King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before continuing to Vilnius for a NATO summit, then a final stop in new NATO member Finland.

Air Force One touched down at Stansted Airport north of London late on Sunday evening, an AFP journalist reported.

On Monday, he meets the British monarch at Windsor Castle, one of the royal residences, for the first time since Charles III's coronation.

The US president did not attend the ceremony, sending First Lady Jill Biden instead.

Their talks are expected to focus on environmental issues, the White House said.

Biden will also be meeting with Sunak at 10 Downing Street.

Erdogan, Biden to hold one-on-one meeting at NATO Vilnius Summit

NATO summit

The main part of Biden's Europe trip will be the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Tuesday and Wednesday, where the Western allies will discuss helping Ukraine to fight Russian forces.

Ukraine is pressing for admission to the military alliance but Biden said in an interview aired on Sunday with CNN that this cannot happen until the war is over.

Bringing Ukraine in now would mean NATO is at war with Russia, Biden said.

Under its Article 5, NATO is committed to defending any member that comes under attack. "It's a commitment that we've all made no matter what. If the war is going on, then we're all in war. We're at war with Russia, if that were the case," Biden said.

His trip comes in the wake of a controversial decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, which most NATO member countries have banned but which the United States continues to hold in its arsenal and says will help Ukraine destroy heavily dug-in Russian forces.

Biden's final stop before returning to Washington on Thursday will be Finland, which ended its historic neutrality to enter NATO in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Biden will be the first US president to visit Helsinki since Donald Trump went five years ago to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.