Psaki says Biden will not go to Ukraine during Europe trip

President Biden will not travel to Ukraine on his scheduled trip to Europe next week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday. 

Biden is set to travel to Europe on Wednesday and attend a NATO leaders summit and a European Union summit in Brussels to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts related to Russia’s invasion and reaffirm America’s “ironclad commitment” to the alliance. 

While the trip will be focused on “continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, there are no plans to travel into Ukraine,” Psaki said in a tweet.

More details regarding Biden’s visit to Europe will be announced later on Sunday.

We will have additional details of @potus trip to Europe to announce later today. The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,
but there are no plans to travel into Ukraine.

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 20, 2022

Psaki announced Biden’s plans to travel to Europe at a press briefing on Tuesday and said the White House views the trip as an opportunity for Biden to engage in face-to-face diplomacy with his European counterparts.

The president will “discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies,” Psaki added.

A meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not currently on the table, she said, while noting that officials are still finalizing the details of the trip “and what it may look like.”