President Joe Biden used his first meeting with a foreign leader since ending the war in Afghanistan to send the message that the United States — unburdened of its “forever war”— is determined to become a more reliable ally to its friends.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose hopes for a White House meeting played a central part in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, will finally get his chance for an Oval Office sit down late next month.

The Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union and a pivotal witness in 2019 impeachment proceedings has sued former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an effort to recoup $1.8 million in legal fees.

President Joe Biden is facing a fresh challenge to his oft-repeated commitment to diversity in his administration: assembling a diplomatic corps that gives a nod to key political allies and donors while staying true to a campaign pledge to appoint ambassadors who look like America.

WASHINGTON — Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, testified on Wednesday that President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, pushed a quid pro quo between the American and Ukrainian leadership. "Mr. Giuliani's requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a White House visit for President Zelenksy," Sondland said of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Sondland testified as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry hearings before the House Intelligence Committee. He publicly confirmed that he worked closely with outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Ukrainian policy "at the express direction of the president of the United States." "We all understood that if we refused to work with Mr. Guiliani, we would lose an important opportunity to cement relations between the United States and Ukraine."