[ad_1]
During his visit to Europe, Blinken briefed Euronews on transatlantic relations under Biden’s chairmanship. He also delved into Nord Stream 2, Sino-Russian relations, and the pandemic.
Relations between the United States and the European Union
“We wanted to come here, to be here (ed. – in Europe), with one task in mind: simply to reaffirm our commitment to NATO, to our alliances, to our partnership with the European Union, with our key allies. That was the most important message.
And it was part of a two week trip. We started in Japan and Korea, then we came here again and again to show that America is getting back to commitments with its alliances, with its alliances. And we were very, very warmly received. “
EU sanctions on China: Is the EU getting closer to the US in dealing with China?
“You know, it is not an attempt to unite with China. This is not an attempt to stop China or stop it. It is a common position for our own interests and the states that are common to us. For what we have invested for so many years, so we call a rules-based international order.
We realized that the best way to ensure that the parties could work together and manage their relationship productively is to sign under common rules and commitments. And our job is to make sure this order is followed.
So when any country, be it China or any other, takes a disorderly action when it is not complying with the rules, we must, we must resist and that is what we are doing most effectively when we do it together, in solidarity. . “
As for Russian-Chinese relations, how concerned is the United States about Russian troops in the Baltic countries?
“This was a frequent topic of discussion at this week’s NATO meeting. I think there is deep common concern about some of Russia’s aggressive actions. And of course, in the United States, we ourselves experienced the cyberattack of SolarWinds.
We try to interfere in our choices. We’ve seen bonus ads for killing our troops in Afghanistan. And we have certainly seen the poisoning of Alexei Navaln and the attempted assassination with a chemical weapon, not to mention the continued Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.
All of these things, like new weapons systems, concern not only us, but our allies and partners as well. And I think we see a shared assessment of the challenge that Russia poses and a shared commitment to tackle it together. I think we are all very confident.
So we see a challenge. I think we also know that there may be areas where, for reasons of mutual interest, we can still work together (ed. With Russia). For example, the United States extended the START agreement with Russia for five years.
There are other areas where we can find ways to work together on strategic stability and arms control. But that will not stop us from joining our allies and partners when Russia takes aggressive action. “
Turkey is an important part of NATO, but it buys defense systems from Russia. Does this destabilize the alliance?
“It is no secret that our views on Turkey differ on this issue. I said this directly to the Turkish representative, I saw other allies doing the same. It is also true that Turkey is a long-time and very valuable ally, working with us. for very important purposes, including the fight against terrorism, the Syrian question and other areas.
That is why I think we are interested in continuing to work closely with Turkey, despite our differences. We communicate with them directly, our conversations are clear and open. I hope that Turkey will take some action to address the challenges it poses to the Alliance, for example the S-400 (Russian defense system). “
Do you think Turkey is listening? We see instability in the eastern Mediterranean, what do you think of that?
“I think we can see a cooling down in the eastern Mediterranean. I think NATO has an important role to play in trying to avoid conflict and ensure that no one in the disputed territories takes provocative actions, starting with Turkish ships in waters that others do not. We just need to see a peaceful solution to these differences under international law.
By the way, when it comes to resource challenges, for natural resources, this should really be a way of bringing countries together. The joint use of these resources, the joint investment, their use can really be what brings the country closer together. We hope that is exactly what will happen. “
What about Nord Stream 2? In Germany, he has caused a real frenzy by saying that this will hurt Ukraine and that he wants the Europeans to stop the project. But now the construction of the pipeline is practically finished. Are you still waiting to reach a compromise?
“You see, first and foremost, Germany is one of our closest allies and partners around the world. We work together every day on so many issues that have a profound impact on the lives of our citizens, and we do so as closest partners.
Our disagreement with Nord Stream 2 does not affect or affect our overall association and relationship. But we made it clear, President Biden was very clear that Nord Stream 2 is a bad idea and a bad deal for Europe, for us, for the Alliance. This undermines the fundamental principles of energy security and energy independence of the EU.
I think this is a challenge for Ukraine, for Poland, for other countries that concern us. So I think it was very important for me to say this directly and clearly to my friend Heiko Maas (ed. – German Foreign Minister). to avoid confusion.
And, in fact, we have laws in the US that require the imposition of sanctions on companies that materially help build the pipeline. So I just wanted to make sure our partners understood our position on this and what we would have to do next. So that’s what we did. “
Europe is going through a serious crisis due to a pandemic. This is due to a vaccine shortage and a one-year quarantine that is devastating the economy. What can the United States do?
“Look, it was obviously a great historic challenge for all of us in the United States. We lost more than 500 thousand. people due to this pandemic. I know the despair and hardships this has caused in Europe and the enormous impact the pandemic has had on people’s lives. We are committed to being a strong international partner, an international leader in addressing this.
Just 10 days ago, in collaboration with the countries called QUAD, Australia, Japan and India, we launched an initiative that will vastly increase access to vaccines over time. We have administered vaccines to our closest neighbors, Mexico and Canada, and I hope they will see more of that in the coming weeks. “
Prepared according to Euronews inf.
