After American criticism, President Joe Biden will meet with his British and French counterparts on Iran as part the G20. Chinense President Xi Jinping also will be present via video link.
Biden will host a meeting with Boris Johnson (UK Prime Minister), Emmanuel Macron (France President) and Angela Merkel (German Chancellor) on Saturday. They make up the E3 – the European leaders who signed onto the Iran nuclear deal.
Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser, stated Thursday that the president seeks a ‘unified’ policy regarding Iran.
Sullivan said, “It’s an occasion to closely coordinate with European leaders on a common negotiating position as it works towards a resumption or negotiations.”
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden arrived in Rome early Friday morning
After American criticism, Xi Jinping of China will participate in G20 via video link.
Donald Trump has canceled the Iran nuclear deal, also known by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA), that saw Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting all international sanctions against its economy. This was a move that angered European allies.
Conversations will also focus on the JCOPA agreement.
Sullivan stated that these will be the main elements of the meeting. “Fundamentally, we will be focusing on a shared strategy, solidarity, and unity in our approach. This will be a contrast to the previous administration’s efforts in Iran which was one of the most significant areas of divergence between the Europeans and the Iranian government.
Sullivan admitted that he wasn’t sure if Iran was willing to negotiate again.
He said that it was not clear to him whether the Iranians were ready to resume talks. “We have heard positive signals that they were, but I think we need to wait and see when they actually show themselves at the negotiating tables. We are willing to negotiate in good faith to return to mutual compliance under the JCPOA. We hope they will be.
Meanwhile China’s President Xi Jinping will participate in the G20, according to a notice from China’s foreign ministry on Friday.
He will deliver a speech to the leaders of the largest economies in the world.
Xi hasn’t left China since the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Washington and Beijing have strained relations as the U.S. seeks to improve its relationship with Taiwan. Taiwan is a self-governing island that has become a major source of conflict between the two countries.
Sandra Oudkirk (the new director of American Institute in Taiwan), spoke out in her first press conference. She stated that the United States is still deeply committed to Taiwan and is working in new areas of cooperation, such as cybersecurity and supply chain.
Oudkirk stated that Taiwan’s support and partnership are of great value. “We are committed in strengthening our ties to Taiwan.
Beijing has increased its military harassment against Taiwan by flying fighter planes above the island. China has not ruled force out of reunifying with Taiwan, which was separated from the mainland in 1949 during the civil war.
The G20 summit is also not being attended by Vladimir Putin, the Russian President. The White House criticised the leaders for skipping it.
“I would like to point out that neither China or Russia will be attending the summit in person at leader level. It appears that COVID-19 is responsible for this. The US and Europe are both going to be there and they will be energized and united at the G20 as well as COP25, driving and shaping the agenda as relates to these important international issues’ Sullivan stated earlier in the week.
Additionally, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López isn’t attending, and the attendance of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida isn’t likely, as there are lower house elections in the country on Sunday.
Biden will also meet with French President Emanuel Macron Friday. This will be their first face-toface meeting since the AUKUS submarine agreement between the US, UK, and Australia that upset the French
President Biden will meet with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (upper left), French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (upper right) on Saturday on Iran
Biden and Jill Biden arrived in Rome on Friday morning for the summit. Their departure was delayed by President Barack Obama’s last-minute negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on his trillion-dollar congressional agenda.
Before he traveled to Italy, the president wanted a vote about his $1.1 trillion infrastructure agreement. Liberal members of his party refused the plan until they could guarantee that moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Silena, would support Biden’s $1.75 trillion social program package.
The House delayed voting on infrastructure until next Wednesday as progressives promised they would only vote in conjunction with the larger spending bill.
Instead, the House passed a temporary extension for surface transportation funding that will continue until Dec. 3.
Biden’s first day in Rome will begin with a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Biden will be the country’s second Catholic president. This is after the Vatican had announced that the meeting would be closed.
The president will then meet with his Italian counterparts, including President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Biden will also host an informal one-on-one meeting with Macron Friday, their first encounter since the AUKUS submarine agreement between the US and Australia, which roiled France.
Biden will meet other world leaders on Sunday to discuss energy prices and supply chain issues.
He will also discuss the implementation and future plans for the global minimum tax that G7 finance ministers came up with back in June. Earlier this month, 136 countries agreed to set up a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, to be imposed by 2023.
Biden will travel to Glasgow, Scotland, Monday for the COP26, a United Nations summit on climate change. There, he’ll likely be confronted with questions about his Build back Better plan and its climate provisions. The framework for the $1.75T social-climate bill now includes 500 billion in climate provisions.