"President Biden is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Finland from July 9-13," the White House said in a statement on Sunday.
It added that Biden would first travel to London for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak "to further strengthen the close relationship" between the two nations.
The American president will then travel to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius to attend the 74th NATO summit on July 11 and 12, the White House said.
On July 13, Biden will visit Helsinki, Finland for a US-Nordic Leaders Summit, according to the statement.
The announcement comes as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is set to visit Washington this week for talks on his country's bid to join NATO, and after US officials said the Western military alliance was nearing a consensus on how to address Ukraine's membership push, according to news reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the weekend that he wanted his country, which is fighting off a Russian invasion, to receive an invitation to join NATO after the war during the Vilnius summit.
"We need a very clear and understandable signal at the Vilnius summit that Ukraine can become an equal member of NATO after the war," Zelensky told reporters during a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Kyiv on Saturday.
"This invitation to the alliance is the first, very practical step, it would be very important for us," he added.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 495 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(gs)
Source: PAP, AFP, whitehouse.gov
