1. This comes ahead of the president's first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
ahead of 在…前面;早于;领先
The new bridge has been finished two years ahead of schedule.
新桥提前两年落成
。2. Biden promised to shore up Washington's democratic alliances in the face of multiple crises and mounting threats from Moscow and from Beijing.
shore up 支撑;支持;加强
The democracies of the West may find it hard to shore up their defences.
西方的民主国家可能会发现很难自圆其说
。