F.P. Report
WASHINGTON: Acting Assistant Secretary Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip T. Reeker has said that, Secretary Blinken is going to travel to Brussels, arriving there tomorrow, April 13 through 15. And the Secretary is taking advantage of this opportunity to join the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, in consultations with our closest allies on a wide range of priorities.
He added that obviously, it’s an opportunity for Secretary Blinken to reiterate and highlight our commitment to revitalizing ties with NATO, which is a critical partner on important U.S. foreign policy goals, including, of course, upholding the rules-based international order that Secretary Blinken has talked about.
He’s expected to emphasize, as he did in March, that NATO and the Transatlantic relationship are based on a foundation of shared values, and that’s what’s brought us more than 70 years of peace and prosperity. Obviously, this is a chance to make good on our pledge to consult with our closest allies and partners. The administration is very committed to re-engaging with multilateral institutions. That includes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as we demonstrated last month at the NATO Ministerial, and putting our values at the forefront of our foreign policy, which will reinvigorate our core sources of strength with our allies and partners.
He added that there are, of course, a number of new and evolving challenges we currently face alongside our NATO Allies. And as the Secretary has always indicated, when we work together to counter these challenges, to deal with them, we are both stronger and more effective. The Secretary has, of course, pointed out as well that we have to adapt to the new challenges and be able to respond with agility. And this kind of consultation, particularly when we have this opportunity to do it jointly with the Secretary of Defense, is a great way to do that.
“I’ll just add that, as the Secretary has pointed out many times and the President as well, multilateralism and this kind of coordination with allies and partners in Europe is the cornerstone of our approach to all the major challenges we face” he said.
While answering to a question regarding Ukraine, he said that we’ve been following in Ukraine, we really continue to be concerned by the actions Russia has taken to escalate tension with Ukraine. There are very clear and credible reports of Russian troop movements. We can see this in Crimea and around Ukraine’s borders, and attacks by Russia-led forces at the line of contact in eastern Ukraine.
“I do want to note that we commend Ukraine for its ongoing restraint in the face of Russia’s provocations. These sort of destabilizing actions have undermined the tenuous ceasefire agreement that was brokered by the OSCE back in July of 2020. At the same time, Russia has had a disinformation campaign blatantly designed to falsely blame Ukraine for what are the Kremlin’s own actions. So we’re monitoring the situation closely, coordinating with Ukrainian officials, with allies and partners” he said.
He further added that obviously, we discussed Afghanistan during the NATO Ministerial. It’ll be an opportunity again to follow up on that, as we pledged to do, very much in keeping with the overall approach, which was in together in Afghanistan, adjusting together there, and leaving together. I think everybody’s aware of the May 1st discussions. I don’t have anything to preview on that per se, but it is an opportunity with Secretary Austin there and Secretary Blinken to again engage with the secretary general of NATO himself, Jens Stoltenberg, and also with allies and partners in various fora to continue with our pledge to consult on Afghanistan and next steps there.
On Ambassador Khalilzad’s talks and conversations, he said that he will have to leave that to him. I haven’t had a chance to discuss personally with him. Obviously, he’s in regular contact with the Secretary and keeping updated on those discussions. And clearly I can’t preempt the White House or the President, but the opportunity here is for Secretary Blinken, along with Secretary Austin, who was already traveling, as you’re aware, and will be in Brussels, to both engage with their counterparts and with NATO on the latest thinking in that regard.
While answering to a question, Philip T. Reeker said “We did have a very successful trip last month to NATO for that ministerial. And all of the sidebar meetings in different formats that the Secretary was able to have, those were very much welcomed by NATO Allies, by other partners, and this is just an opportunity to do that with the added bonus of taking advantage of Secretary of Defense Austin being there as well. So it’s a chance to sort of continue some of that in a location where we have access to more of our partners in the same time zone for these couple of days and really coordinate and consult, again, as closely as we can.
He further added that on Ukraine, look, I think the Secretary himself was very clear. What we see right now, and he spoke to this over the weekend, is the real concerns about Russia’s actions on the borders of Ukraine. There are more Russian forces massed on those borders than at any time since 2014 when Russia first invaded Ukraine in violation of all its commitments under OSCE charters and international rules and laws. And so that’s why we’ve been in very close contact and close coordination with allies and partners in Europe. All of us are sharing those concerns. And again, this will be an opportunity to discuss that in a focused way. And again, I think as the Secretary said, as the President has been quite clear: If Russia acts recklessly or aggressively, there will be costs. There will be consequences to that.
