Biden, 80, SKIPS dinner with NATO leaders and goes straight to his hotel

President Joe Biden has raised his eyebrows after skipping dinner with NATO leaders on Tuesday night and instead heading straight to his hotel in Lithuania.

A US official blamed the 80-year-old president’s busy schedule for four days, saying he is preparing for a “big speech” on Wednesday when asked why he was not attending.

Biden, who has only been in Europe since Sunday evening and went to the beach on Saturday, had Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend instead.

The president’s disapproval came after he told Turkish President Recep Erdogan he would win re-election — and work with him for the next five years.

Despite increasing concerns about his health and age, he was confident about his chances in 2024. Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term.

The White House later revealed that Biden made a series of phone calls as he returned to his lodgings to deal with severe flooding in Vermont.

He spoke with Vermont Governor Phil Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about “his commitment to provide federal assistance needed to help respond to severe flooding,” a US official said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena led the dignitaries on the first night of the summit in Vilnius.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte were also in attendance alongside British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan thanked the US president for congratulating him on his own election — which sparked a runoff with some officials considering a less strenuous relationship with Turkey after it used its strategic position to maintain ties with Russia.

‘Thank you. I look forward to being with you for the next five years, Mr. President,” Biden said.

Erdogan had called his meeting with Biden a “step forward,” referring to his own five-year term.

“And with the upcoming elections, I would like to take the opportunity to wish you good luck as well,” Erdogan said.

Donald Trump regularly testified to his relationship with Erdogan when he was in the White House.

“He’s a friend of mine, and I’m glad we didn’t have a problem because honestly he’s a great leader, and he’s a tough man, he’s a strong man,” Trump said in 2019.

The Turkish strongman was speaking on a day when he achieved an important goal while abandoning his opposition to Sweden’s admission – namely getting F-16 fighters from the US.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Vilnius Thursday that Biden had previously been “clear that he supports the transfer” of the jets.

“He has not commented on this … He intends to move forward with that transfer,” he said.

Officials were vague on additional details, noting that the Greeks were participating in a final meeting on the subject. Biden himself mentioned the jets in the context of bringing Sweden in in a recent CNN interview before heading to London for the start of his journey.

Biden remained tight-lipped after his remarks and barely flinched when US reporters asked him a series of questions about the outline of the deal Sweden, on Russia’s eastern flank, will deliver.

He kept his lips pressed together as aides signaled the press event was over and escorted media members out of the room where they were meeting.

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, an ally of Biden, spoke of the diplomatic breakthrough in Vilnius, telling DailyMail.com that there was a “serious question” when Biden was sworn in on whether the alliance was viable after Trump.

Durbin said an alliance that “failed” is now a “strong, viable, credible operation” with Finland as a member and Sweden seeking to join.

When asked if Biden took anything home, he replied, “He sure is. It’s significant. It’s historic.’

Earlier, Biden vowed to defend “every inch” of NATO territory as the mighty alliance took a major step toward adding its 32nd member.

Speaking at the start of the summit in the capital Vilnius, the president said his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said rumors of division over support for Ukraine are “greatly exaggerated.”

“As I’ve said before, we take — NATO takes — we all take Article V literally,” Biden said as he met with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at the start of the summit on Tuesday.

He said that all members have committed themselves to the mutual defense obligations of the NATO Charter. “We are together against whoever violates that space. We’re going to defend every inch of it,” he said.

Jake Sullivan warned on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin will be “disappointed” by what emerges from the summit.

President Biden’s top aide lashed out at claims that divisions had erupted over Washington’s decision to send controversial cluster bombs to Kiev’s armed forces.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was among a chorus of voices expressing concern about shipping the highly lethal weapons to the war-torn country.

But in a response to DailyMail.com, Sullivan rejected claims that the 31-nation military alliance was split over its support for the Ukrainian military.

“I would say rumors of the death of the NATO unit were greatly exaggerated,” he said. “Vladimir Putin counted on the West to crack, NATO to crack and the Transatlantic Alliance to crack and he has been disappointed at every turn.”

The Russian tyrant will be “deeply disappointed” by what emerges from the two-day meeting in Lithuania, Sullivan added.

And in a clear sign that tensions were rising, Russia’s ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov accused Washington of plotting a “showdown” with Moscow.

“Everything is being done to prepare domestic public opinion for the approval of the anti-Russian decisions that will be taken in Vilnius in the coming days,” he told RIA news agency, a spokesperson for the Kremlin.