US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Archives - Lokmarg

Blinken Meets Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah Amidst Israel-Hamas Conflict

By LokMarg 13th October 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority in Amman, Jordan on Friday.

The meeting comes even as the Israel-Hamas conflict entered its seventh day. Israel has responded to the terror attacks on its soil carried out by Hamas terror operatives that left nearly 1300 dead and several injured.

The Palestinian Authority head represents the Fatah party a bitter political rival of the Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip.

A day prior to his meeting with Blinken, Mahmoud Abbas also met with Jordan’s King Abdullah. After the meeting the Palestinian authority made an appeal to stop the war.

A statement by the Secretary General of PLO executive committee on behalf of Abbas said, “We affirm the policy of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, which rejects violence and adheres to international legitimacy, peaceful popular resistance, and political action as a path to achieving our national goals of freedom and independence.”

“Mr. President’s meeting with the Jordanian King comes within the framework of the efforts made by the Palestinian leadership around the clock to stop the destructive “war”, and within the framework of coordinating positions between Palestine and Jordan” the statement further said.

Mahmoud Abbas in his statement also made an appeal for allowing international aid into Gaza.

“During his meeting with the Jordanian King, His Excellency called for an immediate halt to the comprehensive aggression against our people, the provision of humanitarian medical and relief aid, the provision of water and electricity, and the opening of urgent humanitarian corridors in the Gaza Strip” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Blinken also called on Jordan’s King Abdullah. In his meeting, King Abdullah urged for an opening of a humanitarian corridor for Gaza.

A statement from the Royal Hashemite court said, “His Majesty King Abdullah II, receiving US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urges opening urgent humanitarian corridors for medical and relief aid to Gaza, calling for protecting civilians, de-escalating, and ending the war on Gaza.”

US Secretary of state has also planned to visit key allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to minimise the aftereffects of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Washington has affirmed it solidarity with the Israeli people and the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government. It has also provided Israel with military support, moving warships, aircraft and special operations forces to the region. (ANI)

Antony Blinken Ditches Bulletproof Car, Rides An Auto To Embassy

By LokMarg 4th March 2023

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on an official visit to India for the G20 Foreign Ministers Meet and Raisina Dialogue, chose an auto-rickshaw over his bullet-proof cars to reach the US Embassy in Delhi.

In one of Blinken’s tweets, he can be seen coming out of a three-wheeler.

“A pleasure to meet with our staff from @USAndIndia, @USAndHyderabad, @USAndKolkata, @USAndChennai, @USAndMumbai, and their families. I’m deeply grateful for their hard work and commitment to strengthen our people to people ties and advance the #USIndia strategic partnership,” tweeted United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.

It seems that the US diplomats are loving their new ‘personalized auto-rickshaws’ as earlier, in November 2022, American women diplomats Ann L Mason, Ruth Holmberg, Shareen J Kitterman and Jennifer Bywaters left their bulletproof cars and took the Black and Pink three-wheelers for all their work including the ‘official trips’. Even they drove themselves in auto-rickshaws to all their workplaces.

Talking about their experience with ANI, Ann L Mason said, “From Detroit to my auto rickshaw, I’ve had a lifelong love of vehicles and so everywhere I’ve been there’s been something special about a vehicle but really none more special in my opinion than an autorickshaw. When I was in Pakistan, before coming to India, I was in armoured vehicles and they were big, beautiful vehicles. But I would always look out on the street and I would see the autorickshaws going by and I always wanted to be in the autorickshaw. So when I got to India and had the opportunity to buy one, I took it immediately”.

“For me it was terrifying. Yes, learning to drive the autorickshaw was completely new for me. I had never driven any vehicle with a clutch, never driven a motorcycle only automatic cars, my whole life”, she said when asked about how hard was it to learn, maintain an auto and get a license.

Shareen J Kitterman, born in the south Indian state of Karnataka and holding US citizenship flaunts her pink autorickshaws with flower magnets, said that she was inspired by the Mexican Ambassador who too had an auto with a driver. She has also tied colourful tassels to both sides of her auto and stuck flags of the United States and India near the windshield.

“When I was in US planning to come to New Delhi, I’d heard about the Mexican Ambassador. Ten years ago, she had an auto and she had a driver. That’s when I started thinking about it. When I came here, I saw Ann who had an auto, so when I own an auto, I want to drive it. So, that was my whole goal”, said Shareen.

Mexican Ambassador Melba Pria was the one who started the trend when she made a white-colored rick her official vehicle. (ANI)

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Allowing Russia To Do What It Is Doing In Ukraine Will Be Message To Aggressors: US Secretary Of State Blinken

By LokMarg 3rd March 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said allowing Russia to do what it is doing in Ukraine will be a message to aggressors everywhere.

“If we allow Russia to do what it is doing in Ukraine then that’s a message to the aggressors everwhere that they may be able to get away with it too,” US Secy of State Antony Blinken said at the meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers in the national capital.
Blinken was speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2023 in Delhi themed “The Quad Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon,”, where all Quad Foreign Ministers participated in-person.

“For us the future is so much in Indo-Pacific…Even as we are rightly focussed on what is happening in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression, not just because it matters to Ukrainians and to Ukraine and Europe, but because it matters to the entire world,” Blinken added.

On Quad grouping, Blinken said he believes it is a force for good, positive, and affirmative action.

India on Friday hosted the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting presided over by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with participation by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

The meeting comes a day after the foreign ministers meeting of the G20 in the national capital and according to the Ministry of External Affairs, the meeting offes an opportunity for the ministers to continue their discussions held at their last meeting in New York in September 2022.

On Thursday Blinken and Jaishankar met and had discussions on measures to mitigate the global impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meet, Blinken spoke to Jaishankar and shared his views on tackling global and regional challenges.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Jaishankar also discussed how to mitigate the global impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the United States and India’s cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, the successful launch of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), and regional issues.

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had urged his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to reverse Moscow’s “irreversible decision” and return to implementing New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) nuclear arms reduction treaty. (ANI)

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Blinken, Jaishankar Discuss Ways To Mitigate Global Impacts Of Russia-Ukraine War

By LokMarg 2nd March 2023

United States Secretary of State Antony J Blinken had discussions with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on measures to mitigate the global impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

On the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meet, Blinken spoke to Jaishankar and shared his views on tackling global and regional challenges.
United States Department of State spokesperson Edward Ned Price said that Blinken met with Jaishankar to discuss how India and the US can expand technology and defence cooperation and increase food energy, and health security.

Ned Price also informed that Blinken and Jaishankar spoke about efforts to elevate and expand strategic technology and defence industrial cooperation and promote food, energy, and global health security. They also held discussions to promote clean energy transition, counternarcotics cooperation and women’s economic empowerment.

Blinken said, “I urged Russia to reverse its irresponsible decision and return to implementing the New START, which places verifiable limits on the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation. Mutual compliance is in the interest of both our countries. It’s also what people worldwide expect from us as nuclear powers.”

He said that every country continues to bear the cost of Russia’s aggression.

“Every country continues to bear the cost of Russia’s aggression; a war that President Putin can end tomorrow if he chooses to do so. We worked hard to prevent it,” said Blinken in New Delhi.

Blinken also reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine’s peace proposal that maintains the country’s territorial integrity.

“The US stands ready to support Ukraine through diplomacy to end the war on this basis President Putin however has demonstrated zero interest in engaging saying that there is nothing to talk about,” Blinken said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the West is trying to divide the geopolitical picture into individual episodes.

“The West is trying to divide the geopolitical picture into individual episodes but India, addressed by PM Modi, gave the assessment of the situation across the globe in general terms and I completely share it,” Lavrov said after holding a brief meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Lavrov said that Russia has tried to resolve the issues on many occasions, and Russia has publicly stated that it has never refused to listen to suggestions to find political solutions.(ANI)

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G20 Meet: Blinken Urges Russia To Reverse Action On Ukraine

By LokMarg 2nd March 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged his Russian counterpart Lavrov to reverse Moscow’s “irresponsible decision” and return to implementing the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treat) nuclear arms reduction treaty.

“I spoke briefly with Russian FM Lavrov today,” said Blinken as he confirmed that he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday on the sidelines of G20 in New Delhi.

“I urged Russia to reverse its irresponsible decision and return to implementing the New START, which places verifiable limits on the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation. Mutual compliance is in the interest of both our countries. It’s also what people around the world expect from us as nuclear powers,” Blinken added.

“I told the foreign minister that no matter what else is happening in the world or in our relationship, the United States will always be ready to engage and act on strategic arms control, just as the United States and the Soviet Union did even at the height of the Cold War,” he added.

The meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began over a year ago and which triggered a rift between US-led Western countries and Russia.

He said that every country continues to bear the cost of Russia’s aggression.

“Every country continues to bear the cost of Russia’s aggression; A war that President Putin can end tomorrow if he chose to do so. We worked hard to prevent it,” said Blinken in New Delhi.

Blinken also reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine’s peace proposal that maintains the country’s territorial integrity.

He also lauded Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying “PM Modi is right that there are challenges to the multilateral system. And those challenges in many ways are coming directly from Russia which is violating the principles that lie at the heart of that system.”

“I told the foreign minister (Lavrov) what I and so many others said last week at the United Nations and what so many G20 foreign ministers said today: End this war of aggression, engage in meaningful diplomacy that can produce a just and durable peace,” Blinken said in Delhi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is suspending participation in New START — the only remaining major nuclear arms control treaty with the US — and sought to blame the West for the Ukraine conflict.

Notably, the START caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy.

The TREATY was signed by former US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.

It came into force in February 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five more years after US President Joe Biden took office.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the West is trying to divide the geopolitical picture into individual episodes.

Lavrov said that Russia has tried to resolve the issues on many occasions, and Russia has publicly stated that it has never refused to listen to suggestions to find political resolutions.(ANI)

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Antony Blinken Arrives In India For G20 Meeting

By LokMarg 1st March 2023

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived here on Wednesday to take part in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting under India’s G20 presidency will be held on March 2.

During his visit, Blinken will have bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. He will also participated in the Raisina Dialogue.

“Welcome to India, FM Sameh Shoukry of Egypt @MfaEgypt, FM @ABZayed of UAE @MoFAICUAE and @SecBlinken of USA @StateDept. Looking forward to deliberations at the #G20FMM. @SecBlinken & FM Shoukry will also participate in #Raisina2023,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a tweet.

The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre and nearly 40 delegations are expected to participate.

This will be second ministerial meeting being held under India’s presidency so far. The first ministerial meeting – Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors – was held in Bengaluru.

A US State Department official had said last week that Blinken will attend a bilateral meeting with Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.

“They will talk about our strategic partner partnership but really focus on how we’re working together in the Asian Quad, in the G20, what we’re doing on defence cooperation and the Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies that is being run out of the White House and the prime minister’s office,” Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, had said.

Blinken and Jaishankar will also meet with ministers from Australia and Japan. The four countries are part of Quad. (ANI)

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Balloon Incident Must Never Occur Again: Blinken Tells Wang

By LokMarg 19th February 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday and warned him not to repeat its “irresponsible act” of sending spy balloons into American airspace, The Washington Post reported.

“The secretary made clear the United States will not stand for any violation of our sovereignty,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price underlining that Blinken had also warned China for its balloon incursion and called it an “irresponsible act” and warned that it “must never again occur.”

Taking to Twitter, Blinken said, “Just met with the PRC’s top diplomat, Wang Yi. I condemned the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon and stressed it must never happen again. I warned China against providing material support to Russia. I also emphasized the importance of keeping open lines of communication.”

This statement came while the two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference.

During the meeting, the two diplomats discussed various issues, including Chinese surveillance and the country’s alliance with Moscow — topics that have brought diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington to new lows, reported The Washington Post.

At the annual Munich Security Conference, leaders from across the globe have gathered to discuss key geopolitical challenges including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s contentious engagement with the West.

Blinken also reiterated to Wang comments he had made publicly about Beijing’s alleged balloon surveillance program, saying it has “intruded into the air space of over 40 countries across 5 continents [and] has been exposed to the world,” Price said.

The viewpoint of China is looming particularly large at the traditionally Eurocentric conference given the surprise announcement that Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to deliver a “peace speech” on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.

Wang was much more critical in describing the United States’ handling of the balloon incident, saying the Biden administration’s actions were “absurd and hysterical.”

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi alleged the US of trying to “smear” the Asian giant while it itself was implementing policies that ran counter to its paradigms such as free trade.

Washington, he said, had the wrong view of China as a serious geopolitical challenge and a threat to the United States. “This is a misguided perception of China and with this perception, the United States is using all of its means to smear and clamp down on China and is co-opting other countries to do the same,” he said.

He said that US President Joe Biden’s administration has a “misguided” perception of Beijing.

“There are many balloons from many countries in the sky. Do you want to down each and every one of them?” said Wang.

He also urged the US “not to do such preposterous things simply to divert attention from its own domestic problems.”

Notably, the US shot down the giant balloon, which China claimed to be a civilian airship used for research mainly meteorological, on February 4 after it hovered over the country for a week.

Blinken had been due to travel to Beijing earlier this month but abruptly called off the visit amid the balloon incursion.

Negotiations over whether to hold this meeting in Munich had gone on for days, underscoring the strain in a relationship where meetings between top diplomats used to be commonplace, said officials familiar with the matter.

They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. (ANI)

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US Secy Of State Blinken To Visit India, Attend Raisina Dialogue

By LokMarg 29th January 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India in early March and the details of his visit are being worked out, sources familiar with the deliberations told ANI.

An official said the State Department is eyeing the first week of March for Blinken’s meetings in New Delhi, which would be a run-up to President Joe Biden’s meeting with Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) leaders.

“Secretary Blinken will be meeting his Indian counterpart and other officials to lay the groundwork for the upcoming Quad leaders summit in May 2023,” the source added.

This will be the third annual leaders’ summit of Quad members India, Australia, Japan and the US. Tokyo played host to the last summit in May 2022.

“The summit is expected to be held in Sydney and for now, most likely all four leaders will be present in person for the summit. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will travel to Sydney to meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to further cement the Quad cooperation,” another person familiar with the developments told ANI.

While in India, Secretary Blinken will also be attending the Raisina Dialogue, a multilateral conference held in New Delhi on March 2-4.

Blinken is expected to address the Raisina dialogue, a conference held annually on geopolitics and geo-economics that the Observer Research Foundation, an independent think tank, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs of India hosts.

Earlier in November, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India summit in Cambodia. Jaishankar and Blinken discussed the conflict in Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region, and bilateral ties between India and US.

US Secretary is also expected to travel to China in early February for continued discussions related to one of America’s most complicated and consequential relationships, however, no official announcements have been made as yet. (ANI)