WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken He will leave on Saturday for a diplomatic trip to Europe, where there will be a meeting of the foreign ministers of the main industrialized countries. Ukraine and has Middle East.
The State Department said Blinken will attend Group of seven and bilateral meetings outside Rome on Monday and Tuesday as the Biden administration winds down amid concerns President-elect Donald Trump’s team It could significantly change US foreign policy.
The G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — has been at the forefront of providing military and economic aid to Ukraine since the invasion of Russia in February 2022, and wants to secure Democratic President Joe Biden. that protection is promoted and maintained. G7 members are particularly concerned about how Trump will change the US approach.
Trump has criticized the billions of dollars that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine. Washington has increased arms shipments and written off billions in loans to Kiev. The Republican president-elect has said he can end the war in 24 hours, with comments suggesting he will pressure Ukraine to surrender territory now held by Russia.
In the Middle East, Trump has announced several pro-Israeli officials. The protracted conflict, which has centered on Gaza for the past 13 months since Hamas launched attacks inside Israel, is expected to make policy that strongly favors Israel in the face of Palestinian and other aspirations for a two-state solution.
Several Arab foreign ministers are expected to join the G7 in Italy for urgent discussions to end the war in Gaza and establish a governance, reconstruction and security mechanism for the badly damaged territory once the fighting ends.
US officials are rushing to complete the formation of that structure before Biden leaves office in January, but there have been many complications. Efforts have recently shaken them The decision of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and senior Hamas officials.
Israel’s military operations in Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbollah will also feature in the G7 discussions. US officials say they are hopeful that a recent flurry of diplomatic activity could lead to a ceasefire agreement. .
G7 relations with China will feature in Blinken’s discussions. There are growing concerns about Beijing’s aggression toward Taiwan and the South China Sea, as well as trade disputes that Trump has threatened to address by imposing massive tariffs on Chinese goods.
Blinken will meet with Pope Francis and some of his top aides in Vatican City on Wednesday before returning to Washington.
