Biden in emergency meeting with G7 and NATO leaders

US President Joe Biden held an emergency meeting for G7 and NATO leaders in Bali on Wednesday morning. Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times/AP/NTB

By NTB | 16.11.2022 02:51:14

Policy: The meeting was held Wednesday morning at the hotel where Biden is staying in Bali, Indonesia, where the same leaders are at the G20 summit.

The leaders of all the G7 countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – were present. EU President Charles Michel, European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen and the Prime Ministers of NATO countries Spain and the Netherlands were seated at the conference table.

Biden said “no” to reporters who asked if he would provide an update on the situation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also in Bali, called his Polish and Ukrainian counterparts.

– We promised to be closely coordinated in the coming days as the investigation continues and we decide on appropriate next steps, Blinken said afterwards.

Biden had stayed up all night and was constantly kept informed by his associates.

In a phone conversation with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Biden expressed his condolences. In the conversation, Biden pledged “full American support and assistance to Poland’s investigation.”

The Polish Foreign Ministry said it was a Russian-made rocket that crashed in Przewodów on Tuesday. Two people died. The village is located a few kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

For his part, Duda points out that it is not clear who fired the rocket or where it was produced. It was “most likely” Russian-made, but that remains to be confirmed, Duda says.