Biden and Sunak to hold talks in Belfast as US president commemorates Good Friday Agreement
Joe Biden will hold talks with Rishi Sunak this morning after arriving in Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Sunak greeted Mr Biden after Air Force One landed at Belfast International Airport last night for the start of the US president’s four-day visit to the island of Ireland.
The pair will meet later, with Downing Street saying they would discuss “the UK and US’s extensive and deep relationship, evidenced by collaborative UK and US investment in Northern Ireland’s economy and people”.
But it comes amid ongoing paralysis in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont – established in the peace deal in 1998 – with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refusing to re-join the power sharing agreement over the UK government’s Brexit agreement.
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The US president will meet the leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties after holding talks with Mr Sunak – but the White House said there will not be a formal group meeting with them all.
Following these meetings, Mr Biden will deliver an address at Ulster University’s new £350m Belfast campus where his remarks will commemorate the Good Friday Agreement – the deal that largely ended 30 years of bloodshed between republicans and loyalists.
Sources told Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates that the president is expected to dangle investment cash for the region during his speech, but only if Stormont is up and running again.
He said: “The implied message to the DUP will be get back into power sharing and the billions will flow. If not, your constituents miss out.”
Mr Sunak will not attend Mr Biden’s keynote speech, with Downing Street on Tuesday denying that the engagement between the pair would be “low-key”.
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Speaking to reporters before his departure, Mr Biden said that his top priority was to “make sure the Irish accords and the Windsor Agreement stay in place, keep the peace”.
His son Hunter Biden and sister Valerie Biden Owen are believed to be accompanying him for the trip.
A major security operation will be in place for Mr Biden’s Northern Ireland visit at an estimated cost of £7m.
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Around 300 officers from other parts of the UK will travel to the area to help police a series of events to mark the anniversary.
Mr Biden will travel across the border to Ireland later today where he will tour Carlingford Castle in County Louth, an area to which he has traced his ancestral roots.
Then it’s off to Dublin, where he is expected to visit Irish President Michael D Higgins on Thursday.
Mr Biden will take part in a tree-planting ceremony and ringing of the Peace Bell at the president’s official residence, Aras an Uachtarain.
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Why is Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland significant?
Following that ceremony, he will meet the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and address the Irish parliament.
A banquet dinner at Dublin Castle will follow on Thursday evening.
The president’s trip will end with a visit to County Mayo on Friday, where he has connected with distant cousins.
A descendant of Irish immigrants to the United States, Mr Biden will deliver remarks at St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, County Mayo, to which his great-great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt sold 27,000 bricks in 1827.
The bricks were used to build the cathedral and their sale helped to fund Mr Blewitt’s passage to the US with his family in 1851.
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Biden is invested personally and politically
Joe Biden is invested in defending the Good Friday Agreement because it is one of the greatest achievements of American diplomacy of our times – but he cares for personal reasons, too.
The US president is a proud Irish American and is hugely supportive of the cause of peace on the island of Ireland.
He says his Irish ancestry has been a part of his soul for as long as he can remember.
He traces his Irish heritage through his great-great-grandfather – who left Ireland’s potato famine in the nineteenth century.
He is so overtly Irish that critics question his ability to act as an honest broker when it comes to Northern Ireland.
The White House rejects that and insists he plays a crucial role like presidents before him in promoting peace in the land of his forebears.
He comes to the island of Ireland representing his office and will hope to celebrate all that it has achieved in bringing that peace.
In the 1990s President Clinton and his envoy George Mitchell did much of the heavy lifting in the torturous negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement.
Joe Biden is following their path to reaffirm that commitment and help ensure their work is finally done.
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What is the Good Friday Agreement?
The president’s trip comes at an uncertain time for Northern Ireland, where power sharing in Stormont is still on hold and the terror threat has been raised to severe – meaning an attack is highly likely.
Mr Biden’s arrival came hours after four suspected pipe bombs were found by police in a cemetery in Northern Ireland.
Officers sealed off the City Cemetery in Creggan, Derry/Londonderry, on Tuesday following the discovery of a suspicious device.
There were some disturbances on Easter Monday when petrol bombs were thrown at an armoured police Land Rover in Creggan during what police described as an “unnotified” march by dissident republicans.
Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy has met Israel’s prime minister in an effort to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza before the president-elect takes office on 20 January.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed details of the meeting with Steve Witkoff on Saturday, adding that the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency has been deployed to Qatar in order to “advance” talks.
It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Doha for the latest round of indirect discussions between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli official said some progress had been made, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, to reach a deal in Gaza.
Ronen Bar (left), director of Israel’s security agency, and David Barnea (right), head of Mossad, at a ceremony marking the 7 October Hamas attack. File pic: Reuters
The mediators are making renewed efforts to halt fighting in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages held there before Mr Trump takes office.
A deal would also involve the release of some Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Families of Israeli hostages welcomed Mr Netanyahu’s decision to dispatch the officials, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters describing it as a “historic opportunity”.
Mr Witkoff arrived in Doha on Friday and met the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators received reassurances from Mr Witkoff that the US would continue to work towards a fair deal to end the war soon, Egyptian security sources said, though no further details were released.
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Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Families of the roughly 100 hostages still held in Gaza are pressing Mr Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the area destroyed and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, with most of its population displaced.
Pope Francis has been honoured with America’s highest civilian award by President Joe Biden, who has described the pontiff as “a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world”.
It is the first time Mr Biden, 82, has given the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction during his four years in office.
In a statement, the White House said the award is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours”.
Mr Biden had been scheduled to present the medal to Pope Francis, 88, in person on Saturday in Rome on what was to be the final overseas trip of his presidency. But the president cancelled his visit to monitor the California wildfires.
The White House said Mr Biden bestowed the award during a phone call in which they also discussed efforts to promote peace and alleviate suffering around the world.
President Joe Biden presented Bono with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Pic: AP
Denzel Washington was also recognised. Pic: AP
Michael J Fox was bestowed with the honour. Pic: AP
The award can be presented with or without distinction.
Mr Biden presented the medal of freedom – without distinction – on 5 January to several people including fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, humanitarian and U2 singer Bono, fashion designer Ralph Lauren and actors Michael J Fox and Denzel Washington.
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Mr Biden himself is a recipient of the award with distinction, recognised when he was vice president by then president Barack Obama in a surprise ceremony eight years ago.
Barack Obama presented Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction in 2017. File pic: AP
The citation for the pope’s honour said his “mission of serving the poor has never ceased”.
“A loving pastor, he joyfully answers children’s questions about God. A challenging teacher, he commands us to fight for peace and protect the planet. A welcoming leader, he reaches out to different faiths,” it added.
Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
The injured pair are now in Kyiv and communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine, the country’s domestic intelligence agency, he said.
Ukrainian special forces and paratroopers captured the North Koreans, Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
“As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance,” he said.
“I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to grant journalists access to these prisoners.
“The world needs to know the truth about what is happening.”
Mr Zelenskyy said capturing the soldiers alive was “not easy”. He also claimed Russian and North Korean forces fighting in Kursk have tried to conceal the presence of North Korean soldiers, including by killing wounded comrades on the battlefield to avoid their capture and interrogation by Ukraine.
The post included images of the two men – one with a bandage around his jaw and the other around both hands and wrists – and what appeared to be a Russian military document.
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Ukraine’s security service SBU on Saturday provided further details.
It said one of those detained had no documents at all, while the other had been carrying a Russian military ID card in the name of a man from Tuva, a Russian region bordering Mongolia.
“The prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English or Russian, so communication with them takes place through Korean translators in cooperation with South Korean intelligence,” a statement said.
One of the soldiers claimed he had been told he was going to Russia for training, rather than to fight against Ukraine, according to the SBU.
The agency added both men are being provided with medical care in line with the Geneva Conventions, and investigated “in cooperation with South Korean intelligence”.
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North Korean regular troops entered the war on Russia’s side in October, according to Ukraine and its Western allies.
US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments suggest up to 12,000 North Korean combat troops have been sent by Pyongyang under a pact with Moscow.
They believe North Korea has also been supplying Russia with vast quantities of artillery shells.
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