Zelensky on Whirlwind Tour of Europe ahead of US Vote

03 October 2024, Ukraine, Kyiv: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who makes his first visit in this capacity to Kyiv, capital of Ukraine Photo: Ukrinform/dpa
03 October 2024, Ukraine, Kyiv: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who makes his first visit in this capacity to Kyiv, capital of Ukraine Photo: Ukrinform/dpa
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Zelensky on Whirlwind Tour of Europe ahead of US Vote

03 October 2024, Ukraine, Kyiv: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who makes his first visit in this capacity to Kyiv, capital of Ukraine Photo: Ukrinform/dpa
03 October 2024, Ukraine, Kyiv: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who makes his first visit in this capacity to Kyiv, capital of Ukraine Photo: Ukrinform/dpa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit Britain, France and Italy on Thursday, part of a whirlwind tour of European leaders aimed at securing aid ahead of pivotal US elections next month.
Kyiv could be facing its toughest winter yet this year, as Russia launches fresh waves of strikes on the country's power grid and advances across the eastern front line, said AFP.
The Ukrainian leader will seek to secure as much financial and military backing as possible during the tour, as the prospect of a Donald Trump victory in November's crunch US vote throws support from Washington in doubt.
Zelensky's travel-packed itinerary will see him meet the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy -- all in their respective countries within the space of less than 48 hours.
According to Downing Street, the Ukrainian leader will visit UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday, and also meet new NATO chief Mark Rutte there.
In the afternoon he will be in Paris for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, and is later expected to travel to Rome for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to Italian media.
Zelensky has an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Friday morning, and will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on the same day, according to a German government spokeswoman.
A key meeting with international allies planned for Saturday was postponed after US President Joe Biden called off a planned European trip to focus on the threat from Hurricane Milton.
Pivotal US vote
Zelensky says his country desperately needs more aid to tip the balance of the war and secure victory on the battlefield as Russia captures dozens of small towns and villages in the east.
He also wants clearance to use long-range weapons supplied by allies, including the United States, to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
Ukraine relies on billions of dollars worth of financial and military aid from Washington to fight Russia's invasion, and the US presidential election in November could prove pivotal.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has promised to end the war "in 24 hours" if he is elected, a prospect Kyiv fears means being forced to make massive compromises to achieve peace.
Vice President and Democratic rival Kamala Harris has said she would not meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin for peace talks if Ukraine was not also represented.
Zelensky has rejected any peace plan that would involve ceding territory to Russia, arguing Moscow must withdraw all its troops from inside Ukraine's borders to achieve lasting peace.



Biden, Netanyahu Speak on Israel Plans for Retaliation against Iran

US President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this White House handout image taken in the Oval Office in Washington, US, April 4, 2024. (The White House/Handout via Reuters)
US President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this White House handout image taken in the Oval Office in Washington, US, April 4, 2024. (The White House/Handout via Reuters)
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Biden, Netanyahu Speak on Israel Plans for Retaliation against Iran

US President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this White House handout image taken in the Oval Office in Washington, US, April 4, 2024. (The White House/Handout via Reuters)
US President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this White House handout image taken in the Oval Office in Washington, US, April 4, 2024. (The White House/Handout via Reuters)

US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and the two leaders were expected to discuss Israeli plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran.

The call, under way late Wednesday morning US time, was the leaders' first known chat since August and coincided with a sharp escalation of Israel's conflict with both Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah with no sign of an imminent ceasefire to end the conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel and Washington called it ineffective.

Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the region which could draw in the United States.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been tense, strained over the Israeli leader’s handling of the war in Gaza and the conflict with Hezbollah.

In "War," a book out next week, journalist Bob Woodward reports that Biden regularly accused Netanyahu of having no strategy, and shouted an expletive at him in July, after Israeli strikes near Beirut and in Iran.

Asked about the book, one US official familiar with the two leaders' past interactions said Biden has used sharp, direct, unfiltered and colorful language both with and about Netanyahu while in office.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant canceled a Wednesday visit to the Pentagon, the Pentagon said, as Israeli media reported Netanyahu wanted first to speak with Biden.

Tensions have increased in recent weeks as US officials were repeatedly blindsided by Israeli actions, according to a person familiar with the matter. These included Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon that Israel has neither confirmed nor denied carrying out.

Israel has also been slow to share details of its planning for retaliation against Iran's ballistic missile attack, the person said.

ELECTION ISSUE

Biden has been hit by sharp criticism from international partners as well as members of his own Democratic Party over his inability to use leverage, including the US role as Israel’s chief arms supplier, to curb Netanyahu's attacks.

By extension, Kamala Harris, Biden's vice president and the Democrats' presidential candidate in the Nov. 5 election, has been challenged to defend the administration's policy on the campaign trail.

Many Arab American voters in Michigan, a key battleground state, are backing independent candidate Jill Stein instead, a move that could cost Democrats the state and perhaps the White House in a race with Republican former President Donald Trump that opinion polls show to be very tight.

Harris joined the call with Biden and Netanyahu, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Israel's retaliation is a key subject, with Washington hoping to weigh in on whether the response is appropriate, a separate person briefed on the discussions said.

Israel and Netanyahu in particular have faced widespread condemnation over the nearly 42,000 Palestinians killed in the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and the deaths of over 2,000 people in Lebanon.

Israel says it is defending itself after Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and from attacks by other fighters including Hezbollah who support Hamas.

IRAN OIL FIELDS

Biden said last Friday he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel's shoes, adding he thought Israel had not concluded how to respond to Iran. Last week, he also said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites.

Israel has faced calls by the United States and other allies to accept a ceasefire deal in Gaza and Lebanon but has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.

Biden and Netanyahu were also expected to discuss the conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon, along with other topics.

The United States has said it supports Israel going after Iran-backed targets like Hezbollah and Hamas.

About three million people in Gaza and Lebanon have been displaced by Israel's military campaigns, according to Palestinian and Lebanese officials, and Gaza is also facing a humanitarian crisis with a lack of food and fresh water.

Israel has said some 70,000 Israelis have been displaced from northern Israel by Hezbollah attacks the past year.