Joe Biden cancels President’s Day trip to amid growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia | World | News


The 46th US President planned to visit Delaware, a state he represented in Washington from 1973 to 2009, to spend the President Day holiday at home. The White House issued an update on Sunday which confirmed Mr Biden intended to fly to Wilmington at 5pm.

However, by the afternoon, the trip was cancelled.

A statement explained: “The President had a family-related issue that was going to take him to Wilmington, DE tonight but he will no longer be going and will remain in Washington, DC tonight.”

The Commander-in-Chief also held a rare National Security Council meeting on Sunday.

The Oval Office issued a statement about the meeting, which said officials discussed “the latest developments regarding Russia’s military build-up on the borders of Ukraine”.

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However, the White House also posted an update about the National Security Council on social media.

In an update to its 6.4million Twitter followers, the White House said: “Today, President Biden convened a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia’s military buildup on the borders of Ukraine.”

The post also included an image of Mr Biden, adorned by the Star-Spangled Banner and the flag of the US President.

He was joined in the Situation Room of the West Wing by several other officials, including Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin.

The New York Post has claimed the meeting lasted for more than two hours and included Mr Biden’s running-mate, Kamala Harris, who phoned in from Air Force Two on her return from Munich.

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However, there remains a glimmer of hope that diplomacy could prevail after Mr Johnson welcomed the news French President Emmanuel Macron had spoken to Mr Putin.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said yesterday: “The Prime Minister spoke to French President Macron tonight about the situation in Ukraine.

“They updated one another on their respective diplomatic efforts, including President Macron’s call with President Putin today.

“The Prime Minister noted that President Putin’s commitments to President Macron were a welcome sign that he might still be willing to engage in finding a diplomatic solution.

“The Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine’s voice must be central in any discussions.”



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