When President Biden Arrived in France on Wednesdayhe will unite European leaders and demonstrate his resolve for Ukraine.
But he would also be defying the same leaders who are virtually alone among Western democracies in remaining staunch supporters of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Biden arrived in France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, his first visit to Europe since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terror attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and sparked a military retaliation that left about 36,000 dead in Gaza. He will return to Europe next week for a summit with Group of Seven leaders in Italy, and three weeks later he will host a 75th anniversary summit of NATO nations in Washington.
The series of meetings will put Biden in a position he has never experienced since taking office: He will be simultaneously embraced and isolated by the same allies he has been courting for nearly four years. For a president who has emphasized support for America’s traditional alliances, it is a challenge that will test his diplomatic skills in unfamiliar ways.
“Gaza undermines the moral clarity of the argument they want to make about Ukraine,” said Peter Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York and a longtime analyst of Middle East affairs who has been critical of the Israeli government. “The war in Gaza makes this story less appealing to a lot of people.”
Ivo Daalder, who served as ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama, acknowledged the tensions surrounding Biden’s approach.
“Yes, there seems to be some contradiction in the narrative about Russia and Israel,” said Daalder, now president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “But this is a different situation. One country was attacked and another country launched an attack. This is pretty serious.”
With a few notable exceptions, European allies have remained closely aligned with Washington in the multinational operation for more than two years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with U.S. investments in the war roughly matching their commitments to Kyiv. But European criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza has grown over the past nine months, even as the Biden administration has rejected a call by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor for Israel to halt military action in the Strip. Arrest warrants sought for Israeli leaders Allegations of war crimes.
The differing priorities will be on display at events designed to demonstrate Western unity and resolve. The Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, will be celebrated as the pinnacle of the alliance that defeated Nazi Germany. French President Emmanuel Macron will host leaders of World War II partners, including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose countries launched the climactic amphibious invasion alongside the United States.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attend the ceremony on behalf of the defeated enemies in a show of reconciliation in Europe. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be absent, despite the Soviet Union’s alliance with the West during the war. Macron’s government initially invited low-level Russian representatives to attend, but withdrew the invitation due to opposition to Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine. In contrast, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will attend the ceremony, which is his opportunity to pressure Western leaders to provide more aid.
White House spokesman John F. Kirby said President Biden knows that not all countries agree with his policies. “Disagreements with allies and partners are nothing new to President Biden, nor are the unity, cooperation and collaboration that he promotes on a range of issues,” Kirby said.
Biden’s meetings with allies come at a critical time for Europe and the Middle East. After two years of hard fighting, Ukraine is trying to fend off an escalating Russian offensive that threatens to break through its eastern defenses in a decisive way. Hundreds of miles away, both Israel and Hamas are under pressure to reach a ceasefire in what could be the region’s last chance to move toward a more lasting peace.
Mr. Biden on Friday Such a ceasefire agreement was outlined It would ultimately lead to the release of all hostages by Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a “permanent” end to the war. By pushing for a deal that the Europeans can support, the president may have found a way to minimize divisions when he arrives in Paris.
The Group of Seven, which includes the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, issued a statement on Monday supporting Biden’s deal and calling on Hamas to accept it.
Meanwhile, Biden resolved another thorny issue before his trip, authorizing Ukraine to Using U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia In limited circumstances, for self-defense, Allies such as France, Britain, Germany, and Poland have accepted.
“The only way out of this mess was to solve both problems at once — either help Ukraine do better or win and put Israel on the path to peace,” said Dan Fried, a retired diplomat at the Atlantic Council in Washington. “So we decided to lift some restrictions on the use of American weapons against Ukraine and pursue a complex and ambitious peace plan in Gaza.”
Still, the differences are real and stark. Spain, Ireland and Norway Officially recognized the independent state of Palestine Last week, at the International Court of Justice Order Israel to stop its military offensive In the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Most European governments support the International Criminal Court’s action against Israel for war crimes. The French Foreign Ministry said: “France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence and the fight against impunity in all circumstances.” In a statement.
France has not yet recognized the State of Palestine, but voted in May at the United Nations in favor of Palestine becoming a full member of the organization. Britain, which is no longer a member of the European Union, abstained from the vote.
Biden’s critics say he has no one to blame for the challenges he faces in European diplomacy but his own inconsistent handling of international crises.
“I think the contradiction is in U.S. policy,” said Peter Raff, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for European and Eurasian Studies and a former aide to President George W. Bush. “In Ukraine, he supports Ukraine against the Russian-Iranian alliance, and in Gaza, he manages Israel and even restricts Israel because Israel is facing Iranian proxies.”
On the other hand, some foreign policy veterans say Biden has gotten himself into trouble by being overly supportive of Israel.
“I’m not at all sure Biden made the right choice on Israel-Gaza, although I recognize he’s in a tough spot, as is our country,” said Eric Rubin, a longtime U.S. diplomat and former president of the American Foreign Service Association. “Israel has lost the sympathy of most other countries and their citizens, and I fear we will not see it regain it in our lifetime.”
But some diplomats say that, ultimately, France and other allies will ultimately defer to the United States on these issues. Biden has maintained constructive relationships with his counterparts even as he finds them at odds with one another, unlike his predecessor and likely successor, Donald J. Trump, who berated European allies over disagreements and left them worried about his possible return to the White House.
“The United States still has an indispensable role,” Daalder said. “Everyone is looking to us to figure out how to deal with Russia, how to deal with China, and even frankly how to deal with Israel. Our friends and adversaries still look to us as the ones who determine the outcomes.”
