President Joe Biden welcomed Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to the White House for an Oval Office bilateral meeting Monday, calling Denmark “one of our greatest allies and most reliable friends.”
The president thanked Frederiksen for meeting his granddaughters during their last visit together, who he said, “are still talking about their meeting with the prime minister,” and wished the PM a happy Constitution Day, noting the Danish holiday, “reflects the fact that we have the same values.”
“And together, we’re working together to protect those values, including standing up for the people of Ukraine against the brutal aggression of Russia,” Biden said. “And together with NATO allies, we're taking steps to strengthen our shared security, including finishing our bilateral defense cooperation agreement that we’re working on.”
The subplot to their conversation about Ukraine and transatlantic security is Frederiksen’s next step.
Frederiksen is widely viewed as a potential contender to replace NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is expected to step down from the post later this year.
The position traditionally goes to a European but would require sign-off by the United States.
Some European diplomats speculate her visit to the White House is an opportunity for Biden and his team to sound her out about the top NATO job.
Frederiksen has said she isn’t currently in the running to head up the military alliance.
"I am not a candidate for the job," she told reporters in Copenhagen, according to Reuters.
Still, that hasn’t quieted speculation she may be in a leading position to earn Biden’s endorsement for the job.
Other candidates for NATO Secretary General could include Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. Yet the alliance has never previously been led by a woman.
The White House has declined to say whether Biden will discuss the position with Frederiksen on Monday in the Oval Office.
“I’m just not going to get into any speculation as far as that,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last week.
Instead, White House officials say the two will discuss the war in Ukraine, and Biden’s recent reversal to allow F16 fighter jets into the country as a long-term deterrence to Russian aggression. That conversation will continue Thursday when Biden hosts British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“One of the things we’ll be looking for their perspectives on and the President will be interested in sharing his perspectives on is the long-term security needs of Ukraine,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week. “And that’s really where the F-16s kind of come into this discussion.”
