US President Joe Biden has arrived in the United Kingdom ahead of a NATO summit in Lithuania later this week, after some members criticized his decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine.

The United Kingdom and Canada are among those who have expressed worry about supplying the bombs, which are universally prohibited due to the threat they pose to civilians.

According to the US, they are required since Ukraine’s military stocks are depleting.

Mr. Biden will meet with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today, Monday.

The US leader will also meet King Charles for the first time since the King was crowned.

While in the UK Biden and Sunak are expected to discuss a variety of topics, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Sunak has not directly criticized his main ally, the United States, following the move to deliver the controversial bombs to Ukraine.

He however said on Saturday that the UK was one of 123 countries that had signed up to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international convention that prohibits the development or deployment of the weapons.

Other US allies, though, have gone much further. New Zealand, a NATO member, stated on Sunday that the munitions may cause “huge damage to innocent people.”

Cluster bombs often release a large number of tiny bomblets that can kill indiscriminately across a large region. Unexploded bomblets can lie on the ground for years before detonating.

The US claims to have gotten formal assurances from Kiev that the Ukrainian military will not use the ammunition in Russia or in metropolitan areas.

BBC