President Biden and King Charles III,

two leaders who have waited decades to reach the pinnacle of their careers,

used their first meeting in their respective roles Monday to highlight the generational issue of climate change,

to poke

private companies to do more to support clean energy in developing countries.

The meticulously choreographed meeting at Windsor Castle gave substance to the kind of encounter between president and monarch that historically revolved more around pomp and circumstance. After the arrival formalities, Biden and Charles participated in a climate-focused roundtable with officials from the financial and philanthropic sectors. John F. Kerry, US Climate Envoy,

So

attended.

Crowned in May, 74-year-old Charles has already made the environment an important part of his policy legacy and has long fought to protect wildlife and fight climate change. Biden, for his part, identified climate change as one of four crises he was determined to face as president. He signed a sweeping legislative package last year that includes nearly $375 billion in climate-related incentives.

Biden, 80, last had formal talks with Charles, then-Prince, at the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. The president also attended the state funeral of Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September , as well as a reception for heads of state at Buckingham Palace the evening before the service. Biden did not attend Charles’s coronation, sending First Lady Jill Biden instead.

Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the president has immense respect for the king’s commitment on climate in particular. He said Charles has been a clarion caller on climate and one who has mobilized action and effort.

So the president is coming into this with tremendous goodwill, Sullivan told reporters on Sunday as Biden flew to London.

Biden and Charles made sure to show off their still-growing friendship and warmth during the ceremonial arrival at Windsor Castle outside London. After they shook hands, Biden placed his hand on Charles’s arm and then the King’s back as they approached a viewing platform to inspect a guard of honour. They seemed relaxed and cordial, unlike more formal meetings between former US presidents and British royalty.

The late Queen Elizabeth II’s views on politics and political issues were a closely guarded secret and her meetings with world leaders were almost entirely ceremonial. Charles spent his decades as heir to the throne voicing opinions on many issues, including architecture and the environment, and he continues to be interested in climate change now that he is king. However, neither he nor Biden spoke publicly at Windsor Castle.

Biden’s royal visit marked his sixth meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak since Sunak took office. The two discussed a range of global issues, including the war in Ukraine. Both nations are among Kiev’s staunchest defenders, and the United Kingdom has pushed the White House to take more aggressive steps to provide military aid to Ukraine.

After his meetings with Charles and Sunak, Biden flew to Vilnius, Lithuania, for the annual NATO summit. Discussion of the war in Ukraine is expected to take center stage for two days of talks starting Tuesday. His conversations with Charles

were intended to emphasize the

so called

lasting special relationship between the US and the UK When Biden refused to attend Charles’s coronation, he promised the king in a telephone call that he would come soon.

Biden’s meeting with Sunak at the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing St. included a discussion about

this week’s presidential decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, a weapon that more than two-thirds of NATO military alliance members have refused because of their potential threat to civilian lives.

Biden has said it was a difficult decision to deliver the bombs that open in the air and drop small bombs over a wide swath of land, but he noted that the Ukrainians are running low on ammunition and the weapons were needed to continue. to fight. Russian troops.

It took me a while to be convinced to do it, Biden said in a broadcast CNN interview as he flew to London. But the main thing is that either they have the weapons to prevent the Russians… from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas, or they don’t. And I think they needed it.

Sunak, for his part, has distanced himself from the American decision. The Prime Minister’s spokesman said leaders spoke on Monday about Britain’s opposition to the use of cluster munitions.

The first thing to say is that this was a difficult choice for the US, forced upon it by Russia’s war of aggression, Sunaks spokesman Max Blain said. As the Prime Minister said this weekend, the UK is a party to the convention on cluster munitions. They discussed the UK’s commitments under that treaty not to produce or use cluster munitions and to discourage their use.

The US is not a party to that agreement. Sunak emphasized over the weekend that Britain will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion, but we have done that by providing heavy battle tanks and recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine .

Sunak told Biden during their meeting that he understood that supplying the cluster munitions was a difficult decision for Biden, and that he recognized the American rationale for doing so, according to a White House official who was granted anonymity to discuss a private conversation.

Sullivan

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downplayed the disagreement over cluster munitions by saying I think you will find Prime Minister Sunak and President Biden strategically on the same page on Ukraine, aligned with the bigger picture of what we are trying to accomplish and both as united as ever in this conflict and write big.

And as the leaders met over tea in 10 Downing St. garden on Monday, they continued to project that face of unity.

“We only meet once a month anymore,” Biden joked as he stated that the US-UK relationship is rock solid. Sunak added that their countries are two of the strongest allies in that alliance.

The prime minister’s office said the meeting provided an opportunity to track progress on measures and initiatives under the Atlantic Declaration, which the two leaders signed when Sunak visited the White House last month. The statement includes negotiations for a critical minerals agreement to support shared US-UK leadership in green technology, the statement said.