U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden will visit Beirut on Friday to express the Obama administration's support for an independent and sovereign Lebanon, the White House said Thursday. In Beirut, Biden will meet with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, and parliament speaker Nabih Berri. Biden also will join Defense Minister Elias Murr for an announcement about military assistance to the Lebanese military, the White House said. Biden was in Kosovo on Thursday, finishing a three-day tour of southeastern Europe. He previously had visited Bosnia and Serbia.