(18 Oct 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Berlin – 18 October 2024
1. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and U.S. President Joe Biden walk into room, greet medal ceremony guests
2. Wide of room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German President:
“And yet, in this friendship, there have been – and always will be – times of proximity and greater distance, times of agreement and times of discord. Even recently, just a handful of years ago, the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other. But, ladies and gentlemen, throughout the ups and downs of time, there have been people who have stood by the transatlantic relations no matter what. And chief among those people, Mr. President, is you.”
4. Wide of Steinmeier speaking
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German President:
“The choice on November 5th is only Americans’ choice to make. But we as Europeans have a choice, too: we have the choice to do our part, to be unwavering in our support for Ukraine, to invest in our common security, to invest in our shared future – and, as you have done, sir, to stand by the transatlantic alliance no matter what.”
6. Wide of audience applauding
7. Close of Steinmeier presenting Biden with medal
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Biden, U.S. President:
"We head into a very difficult winter. We cannot let up. We must sustain our support. In my view, we must keep going until Ukraine wins a just and durable peace consistent with the UN Charter, until once again, human dignity prevails."
9. Various of audience standing and applauding
STORYLINE:
Germany honored U.S. President Joe Biden for his contribution to trans-Atlantic relations on Friday, ahead of his meetings with European allies on Russia’s war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
Biden received the highest class of Germany’s Order of Merit, which was also bestowed on former U.S. President George H.W. Bush for his support of German reunification.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier pointed to Biden’s interest in Germany going back more than four decades. He said the friendship with the U.S. is “and will always be existentially important” for Germany, but there have always been “times of proximity and greater distance.”
“Even recently, just a handful of years ago, the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other,” Steinmeier said, in an allusion to tense relations during Trump’s earlier presidency. He said Biden “restored Europe’s hope in the trans-Atlantic alliance literally overnight.”
Biden thanked German leaders for their role in helping Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
“We cannot let up,” he said. “We must sustain our support; in my view, we must keep going until Ukraine wins a just and durable peace.”
Biden didn’t want his term to end without visiting Berlin, after having been to visit other key allies such as Japan, South Korea, France, India, the United Kingdom, Poland and Ukraine.
Biden plans to meet later Friday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Biden and Scholz will later meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer before the U.S. president jets home late Friday afternoon.
Biden and Scholz plan to discuss next steps in Ukraine and developments in Israel and Gaza after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. They also intend to touch on Lebanon and Iran, and coordinate their approaches to China as well as their respective industrial and innovation strategies. The pair are also set to talk about the development of artificial intelligence and renewable energy resources.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/33a481d65f0a4db0aa5be0db5296e187
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in October 23, 2024, 12:04 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
