US President Joe Biden arrived in Belfast on Tuesday evening. He pays a short visit to Northern Ireland, where he has a series of appointments on Wednesday. It has been unsettled in the country for weeks, but that was no reason for Biden to cancel his visit, he said, according to international news agencies. The president is in Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended the violent struggle between Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists.
The threat level in Northern Ireland was already raised to serious two weeks ago — making an attack highly likely — after a police inspector was shot. In Londonderry, about 110 kilometers from Belfast, the police found four pipe bombs in a cemetery on Tuesday. Those are improvised explosive devices police related with the nationalists who caused unrest on Monday. Then a group of masked protesters pelted a police car with firebombs.
Biden was welcomed at Belfast airport by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with whom he will meet again on Wednesday morning. The US president will then speak with the leaders of the five main political parties in Northern Ireland. Biden ends the visit with a speech at the University of Ulster in Belfast. He then travels on to Ireland for a three-day visit. Biden will address the parliament in Dublin and visit the homes of his ancestors.
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