As tensions soar in the Middle East, the president’s lame duck status hinders efforts to manage the escalation of risks in the region

U.S. President Joe Biden takes off for Berlin on Thursday for a rapid visit to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain as Kyiv urges its western allies to take urgent steps to end the fighting.

The rapidly expanding conflict in the Middle East is also expected to be high on the agenda in talks between the leaders as diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting have stalled. Biden had originally been scheduled to convene a broader meeting of Ukraine’s military supporters at the U.

A summit between between Palestinian, US, Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, has been cancelled, just hours before Joe Biden was due to visit the region.