Blinken is coming to Europe for talks with NATO and EU allies. Republic of Moldova, on the agenda of G7 foreign ministers
U.S. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken was released from quarantine on Thursday, a week after being tested positive for COVID-19, and will travel to Europe this weekend for meetings with NATO and European allies, AFP reports. . Agerpres.
The Secretary of State, who has been isolated from his home since May 4, receives his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai on Thursday, just before the start of a summit of US President Joe Biden with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Washington ( ASEAN).
On Saturday, he will leave for Germany, where he will attend an informal meeting of North Atlantic Alliance foreign ministers in Berlin on Sunday in order to continue coordinating the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the State Department said in a statement. .
These meetings are at a crucial time. Finland on Thursday openly expressed its desire to join NATO “without delay”, which raises the issue of security guarantees that other countries, and above all the US, could provide during the accession process. opposite Russia, which has already denounced or threatened him.
On Sunday, Antony Blinken will travel to France until Monday to attend a meeting between Saclay, a suburb of Paris, on the US-EU trade in technology and their trade.
Due to his infection with COVID-19, which kept him in solitary confinement in Washington, the US Secretary of State had to give up his trip to Morocco to chair a meeting of the international anti-jihadist coalition, which took place on Wednesday. meeting with his G7 counterparts, which began in Germany on Thursday.
Republic of Moldova, on the agenda of G7 foreign ministers’ talks
Food security concerns will dominate the annual meeting of G7 foreign ministers, the most industrialized group in Germany, as the war between Russia and Ukraine threatens to destabilize Moldova, Reuters reports.
The meeting in the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus is also attended by the heads of diplomacy of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, and their colleagues from the most developed Western states will reaffirm their support for the two ex-Soviet countries.
The talks will be dominated by Ukraine and the issue of managing the consequences of a conflict that could last for months or even longer.
The war in Ukraine has led to rising global prices for grain, edible oil, fuel and fertilizers, and UN agencies warn that these increases will exacerbate the food crisis, especially in Africa, Reuters reports.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the transport of goods on the Black Sea, a major route for grain and other goods, suffocating exports from Ukraine and Russia.
“25 million tonnes of grain are currently blocked in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, meaning food for millions of people in the world who urgently need it, especially in African and Middle Eastern countries,” the foreign minister told reporters. . German Annalena Baerbock.
“That is why we are sending a clear signal today: we will see, hear and support you,” she added.
According to diplomatic sources, G7 states want to be better organized to find quick and effective answers to the food crisis.
Among the G7 foreign ministers – Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan and the United States – he will not be present at the meeting of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has just come out of isolation due to coronavirus infection.
Participants in the meeting – which will also be represented in the EU – will also seek to reassure Moldova, which borders neighboring Ukraine and is struggling to deal with an influx of Ukrainian refugees, while a number of incidents have taken place in recent years. Weeks in Transnistria involving pro-Russian separatists have raised international concerns that the war in Ukraine could extend beyond its borders.
“This country is weakened by the war, so we must not confirm our support for Moldova,” he told French media or a diplomatic source.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ret no Marsudi holds the rotating presidency of the G20, the group of industrialized and emerging countries, including Russia, will join the G7 meeting on Friday to discuss food security.
A French official has indicated that Russia’s presence at the summit of heads of state in November will also be raised.
The meeting of G7 foreign ministers ends on Saturday.
Editor: RK