G7: foreign ministers in London, mechanism against fake news.
Blinken attacks China
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May 03, 2021On the day Britain registers only one death from Covid-19, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in London for some meetings on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers, before the official start tomorrow. it will last until Wednesday.
Today, the head of US diplomacy met with his British counterpart Dominic Raab - the first among them, but also his Japanese colleague Toshimitsu Motegi and the South Korean foreign minister, Chung Eui-Yong.
Russia: Blinken, USA do not want escalation but stable relations
The United States "is not looking for an escalation" with Russia, on the contrary "it would prefer more stable and predictable relations". This was declared by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, from London where tomorrow he will participate in the G7 Foreign Ministerial. "If Russia starts moving in this direction," added Blinken after his bilateral meeting with British counterpart Dominc Raab, "then we will do the same". The US secretary of state then noted that the US president, Joe Biden, will have the opportunity "to speak directly with President Vladimir Putin when he meets him". The White House has proposed a summit between Biden and Putin, which the two chancelleries are working on.
At the center of today's meetings, also, China, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea and the nuclear program. "Diplomacy and deterrence" were the key words that would dominate the talks.
To all interlocutors he illustrated Biden's new North Korean strategy - which Blinken says is looking forward to being in the UK in June - (already challenged by Pyongyang), different from both Donald Trump's eccentric personal contacts, and from waiting. skeptical of the Barack Obama administration. The idea, according to the State Department, is now instead to open up to "diplomacy" with the regime of Kim Jong-Un, if he wants to dialogue, but also to assert "a severe deterrence" in the meantime. "Our goal is the complete de-nuclearization of North Korea" he reiterated and that "the commitment to maintaining good relations" depends on Pyongyang, but that the G7 could "serve in this regard".
"It is vital that the violence cease in Myanmar," Biden's emissary said, and on Iran Blinken said he was "determined to bring every American prisoner home".
On China Blinken hopes for "a positive vision for the future that will lead our two countries to work together on common goals" and also on Russia he sees areas where the same thing can happen. As for Afghanistan, he says he will continue to "maintain American support" in the country.
A meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also scheduled. Blinken will also participate in a memorial service in remembrance of the victims of World War II at Saint Paul's Cathedral.
The interview will focus on plans to define new global objectives in the field of women's education but - underlines the "Guardian" - comes at a time when London is drastically cutting international aid to the sector: the average expenditure on aid in the United Kingdom for the girls' education since 2016 had been £ 672 million per year, but the commitment for 2021 has been set at £ 400 million.
Foreign ministers from South Korea, Australia, India and South Africa will also participate in some of the talks. The Foreign Office has decided to present plans that aim to send 40 million children from low- and middle-income countries to school within five years. The London Summit will collectively decide on a two-year aid package of $ 15 billion. For Andrew Mitchell, former Secretary of International Development, the UK's reputation as a global leader in this field has been severely undermined "by cuts not just to school but to family planning and maternal health care, which are integral to each other. of the other ".