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Close transatlantic coordination: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken our guest in Berlin
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met today with Foreign Minister Jean‑Yves Le Drian of France, the UK Deputy Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, © Florian Gaertner/photothek.de
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met her American counterpart Antony Blinken today at the Federal Foreign Office. Their talks were preceded by a quadrilateral meeting between Germany, France, the UK and the United States of America
After the visits to Kyiv and Moscow: A joint stocktaking
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s first meeting today was with Foreign Minister Jean‑Yves Le Drian of France, the UK Deputy Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Their talks focused on the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Secretary of State Blinken returned today from a visit to Kyiv; Foreign Minister Baerbock had visited the Ukrainian capital on Monday. Antony Blinken is due to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday. Foreign Minister Baerbock spoke with Lavrov on Tuesday. Following the talks and consultations so far in the NATO-Russia Council, in the OSCE, the EU and at bilateral level, today’s meeting with partners and friends served to take stock and to discuss the next steps to be taken, coordinating our positions.
After the meeting, Foreign Minister Baerbock affirmed:
We all agree that a political path is the only way out of the crisis, and that means engaging in dialogue. We have made our willingness to do so more than clear at our meetings over the past days and weeks at all levels and in all configurations.
Unfortunately, Russia’s actions continue to tell another story. The worrisome activities are still on the increase.
The talks also addressed the diplomatic efforts to restore the nuclear agreement (JCPoA) with Iran. Foreign Minister Baerbock stated:
We are all working together on this issue, too. Unfortunately we have to admit that key questions regarding nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions remain unresolved by the ongoing negotiations in Vienna. The window of opportunity for reaching a solution continues to Close.
German-American friendship: Secretary of State Blinken at the Federal Foreign Office
Thereafter, Foreign Minister Baerbock met her US counterpart Antony Blinken for bilateral talks. These, too, centred on the current international issues. In addition, the interlocutors followed‑up on their talks in Washington in early January and discussed how our close bilateral relations could be further enhanced.
Foreign Minister Baerbock said:
Coordination between us could not be closer – as was our agreed goal when we last spoke in person in Washington, DC at the start of the month.