Obama arrives in UK for G20, Europe tour

By Stephen Collinson
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 03:04:00 04/01/2009

Filed Under: Military, World Financial Crisis, Diplomacy, Foreign affairs & international relations, US politics, Obama Articles


LONDON—(UPDATE) US President Barack Obama arrived in London Tuesday ahead of the G20 economic summit, on his eagerly awaited first foray onto the global stage since he moved into the White House in January.

Obama arrived at the heavily secured Stansted airport outside London aboard Air Force One, then rode in his helicopter, codenamed Marine One, to the US ambassador's residence in central London.

The new US president will immediately face stiff tests in his first big foray into high-stakes global diplomacy, with his first meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and China's President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.

The president will also meet Wednesday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the host of the G20 economic crisis summit of developed and developing nations, and the two leaders will hold a joint press conference.

Seldom has a US president faced such a stern first test overseas as the one awaiting Obama at Thursday's Group of 20 summit, with the once mighty US economy and the global finance system locked in the worst crisis for decades.

He is set to take a central role in global efforts to mitigate the crisis but the talks have been dogged by persistent reports of rifts between Europe and the United States on the best way to tame the world recession.

On Friday, Obama will head to France and Germany for NATO's symbolic 60th anniversary summit, which marks his first test abroad as US commander in chief and his best chance to sell his new plan for the Afghan war to wary allies.

The Europe trip also marks the much anticipated debut on the global stage of Obama's wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, who also has a packed agenda of meetings and planned appearances.

Their visit is seen by Europe analysts as the most anticipated by a US president and first lady since that of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy.

The president will formally launch his personal bid to "reset" US-Russia relations, badly strained during the former Bush administration, in his meeting with Medvedev.

The talks with China's Hu will take place against a backdrop of economic tensions between the two powers, and following a standoff between a US navy ship and Chinese vessels.

"This will be the first meeting between the president and each of those leaders. Our sense is there will be a very broad agenda, touching any number of issues, economic, political, strategic," said Mike Froman, a deputy US national security adviser for international economic affairs.

US officials also said the Obama-Hu meeting would touch on North Korea's apparently imminent missile test, and the consequences for the six-party process designed to eliminate Pyongyang's weapons programs.

Later Wednesday, Obama will meet with Britain's Queen Elizabeth and join fellow Group of 20 leaders on the eve of their summit to seek agreement on how to kick-start global demand and reframe regulation of the finance industry to forestall future crises.

Amid new suggestions of division about whether more economic stimulus or more far reaching regulation was the best way to stimulate demand, the White House again argued that a broad consensus could be reached.

"Despite the back and forth in the press, nobody at any point has any expectations that countries would come to this meeting ... and say 'I am going to do another point of stimulus,'" Froman said.

"That is not what these summits are about, this is not a pledging conference. Right now there is vigorous debate in Europe as to whether more stimulus is necessary or prudent.

"Countries have done stimulus, those stimulus plans are being implemented, and from our point of view, all that is necessary down the road, if growth is not restored, how will countries react?"

Obama, who is more popular than most of the European leaders he will meet, left for London bolstered by a new poll showing most American voters are happy to see him fly the flag overseas.

Eight in 10 people polled by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation believed that Obama would do a good job representing them to the world.

After the G20 summit on Thursday, and talks with leaders including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Saudi King Abdullah, Obama heads to France and Germany for the NATO summit.

He will stop in the Czech Republic on Sunday for US-EU meetings in Prague, then wrap up his trip in Turkey, with a first chance to engage the Muslim world.