WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden thanked Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday for the country's role in a Western alliance "standing up" for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia's 15-month-old invasion.
The Oval Office visit was the first of a pair of critical meetings Biden is holding with European allies this week that will focus heavily on what lies ahead in the war in Ukraine -- including the recently launched effort to train, and eventually equip, Ukraine with American-made F-16 fighter jets. Biden will meet Thursday with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Britain and Denmark are playing a pivotal role in the nascent joint international plan that Biden recently endorsed after months of resisting calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for U.S. aircraft.
"Together we're working to protect those values -- including standing up for the people of Ukraine against the brutal aggression of the Russians," Biden said.
The leaders of two key NATO allies didn't mention the F-16 agreement in their brief remarks before reporters at the start of the meeting, but White House officials said coordination on training Ukraine on modern aircraft would be a central part of the talks.
Frederiksen thanked Biden for leading the transatlantic alliance.
"I am looking forward to working even closer with you on defense and security," she said.
Denmark has purchased dozens of American-made F-16s since the 1970s and has indicated that it is open to the possibility of providing Ukraine with some.
Britain strongly advocated for a coalition to supply Ukraine with fighter planes, and says it will support Ukraine getting the F-16s it wants. But the U.K. does not have any F-16s, and has ruled out sending Royal Air Force Typhoon jets.
Instead, Britain says it will give Ukrainian pilots basic training on Western-standard jets starting in early summer to prepare them to fly F-16s. The Ukrainian pilots will then go on to other countries for the next stages of training.
The F-16 agreement is among several recent high-profile efforts by the U.S. and Europe focused on bolstering Western resolve as the war grinds on. Moscow officials claimed that Ukrainian forces were making a major effort to punch through Russian defensive lines in southeast Ukraine for a second day Monday. Kyiv authorities didn't confirm the attacks and suggested the claim was Russian misinformation.
Biden was expected to discuss with Frederiksen and Rishi preparations for next month's NATO summit in Lithuania that comes amid growing pressure on the alliance from Zelenskyy on NATO to offer Ukraine concrete security guarantees and a defined path for Kyiv to eventually win membership into the group.
Information for this article was contributed by Darlene Superville and Jill Lawless of The Associated Press.
FILE - Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks with the media as she arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, March 23, 2023. President Joe Biden is welcoming Denmark and Britain's prime ministers this week to Washington for talks that will focus heavily on what lays ahead in the war in Ukraine — including the recently launched effort to train, and eventually equip, Ukraine with American-made F-16s fighter jets. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
President Joe Biden meets with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
FILE - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives for the European Political Community Summit at the Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, Moldova, Thursday, June 1, 2023. President Joe Biden is welcoming Denmark and Britain's prime ministers this week to Washington for talks that will focus heavily on what lays ahead in the war in Ukraine — including the recently launched effort to train, and eventually equip, Ukraine with American-made F-16s fighter jets. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
President Joe Biden meets with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden meets with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden meets with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)