Ukraine-Russia conflict set to dominate meeting between US President Biden, Spain's Sanchez at White House

The conflict between Moscow and Kyiv is set to dominate Friday’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at the White House as they talk about migration, defence cooperation, and Ukraine. Despite Madrid’s agreement with Washington that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was unlawful, Sanchez will transmit China’s and Brazil’s opposing viewpoints and urge assigning more weight to non-NATO countries harmed by the conflict, a Spanish diplomatic source said. The 12-point peace plan from China was met with scepticism by the United States, which asserted that if Beijing were sincere about upholding sovereignty, it should compel Russia to leave. Similarly, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew US criticism for his suggestion the West had been “encouraging” war by arming Ukraine. A White House official said China and Brazil could play a role in eventual peace talks, but stressed that an end to the war must respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. “We support (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiyy’s call for a just end to Russia’s war of choice that respects certain principles, including sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the official said, adding Biden would thank Sanchez for Spanish security and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Dan Fried, a former US diplomat at the Atlantic Council think tank, expressed scepticism that Sanchez would urge Washington to pay greater heed to Chinese and Brazilian views on the war. “A Spanish suggestion that the US (and) Europe reach out more to the Global South about Russia’s war against Ukraine could be seen as constructive, especially if Spain were willing to help, as I expect it would be,” he said. “I doubt that the Spanish government would urge the US to abandon a country fighting for its life or to show faux understanding for the aggressor nation, Russia,” he added. The White House official said Biden would thank Sanchez for Spain’s commitment to collaborate on expanding “migration pathways” for people from Latin America. They would also discuss efforts to strengthen the defence relationship between the United States and Spain, he said. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.