Page 53 - Max Bergmann News Today

President Joe Biden may be stuck with symbolic wins in Europe.

One year ago, Joe Biden strode into his first Group of Seven summit as president and confidently told the closest U.S. allies that "America is Back."

President Biden strode into Europe a year ago declaring "America is back," but now he is making the rounds at a summit in Germany as a hobbled leader while Western allies openly take swipes at the U.S.

The aftermath of the Ukraine war, as a protracted complex conflict, has revealed how the Russia-West geopolitical rivalry has entered uncharted territories with an asymmetrical war and unparallel weaponry: hard power versus sanctions and other tools of political economy, or sticky power. It seems to be a misguided venture of power dynamics: bullets and rockets versus economic and financial warfare, perpetuating a long hurting stalemate for all stakeholders.

Groups like the G7 and EU have played a critical role in punishing Moscow for its invasion and cushioning the war’s global effects, experts said.

At the upcoming G7 and NATO summits, Russia will be No 1 on the agenda, while China will also be a focus, experts said.

Biden will arrive Saturday in the Bavarian Alps to begin a pair of summits that will confront a far more somber situation in Ukraine.

European Union leaders granted Ukraine candidacy to be a member of the bloc, bolstering morale in Ukraine and EU solidarity. But the practical difference could be a decade or more away.

The G-7 and NATO, which hold summits this week, have united in response to Russia's war in Ukraine. But President Biden and other leaders arrive weakened by inflation and domestic issues, which may curtail the group's ambitions.

When President Joe Biden returns to Europe this weekend for six days of economic and national security meetings, he’ll do so as the leader of reinvigorated Western alliances, resolute in responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and recommitted to defending democracy.