WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration on Wednesday cut off or examined a wide range of foreign policies from the Trump era as America’s new top diplomat took over the State Department.
The administration has at least temporarily held several large-arms arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, while newly installed Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he is urgently looking at a terrorist designation against Yemeni Houthi rebels. , which his predecessor adopted shortly before leaving office.
On his first full day at work, Blinken said the administration has initiated a comprehensive review of the US relationship with Russia and is examining the details of a US-Taliban peace agreement signed almost a year ago. He said, however, that the administration had asked Trump’s special envoy to Afghanistan, former United Nations ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, to remain in the workforce for the sake of continuity.
Speaking to reporters just hours after his ceremonial but limited coronavirus entry into the State Department’s main lobby, Blinken also said the administration is willing to return to 2015 nuclear deal commitments with Iran, including former President Donald Trump. it withdrew, but only if Iran returned to full compliance with the agreement.
In his remarks to a demoralized diplomatic corps, which has often been denigrated or ignored over the past four years, Blinken promised to rebuild the ranks of the foreign service and build on his expertise, while the Biden administration seeks to restore the US’s global status. He said the world is following the way America pursues foreign policy according to Trump’s “America First” doctrine, which has alienated many American allies.
Blinken spoke with foreign ministers in Britain, France, Germany and Israel on Wednesday, following calls late Tuesday for his counterparts in Canada, Mexico, Japan and South Korea.
Appearing in the press conference room, which had been rarely used during the Trump administration, Blinken pledged to respect and be accessible to journalists and to reinstate the State Department’s daily press sessions starting next week.
On political issues, Blinken said he was particularly concerned about the designation of the “foreign terrorist organization” for Iran-backed Houthis, which former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced just 10 days before the end of the Trump administration. Many fear that the action, which comes with strict US sanctions, will unnecessarily exacerbate what is already one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
Of all the steps Trump and Pompeo have taken in their declining days, “this is the priority in my book,” Blinken said of the appointment. “We are taking a very urgent and very careful look at this.” The Treasury Department has already decided to suspend some of the sanctions associated with the designation, but aid groups say there could be mass famines if not all of them are lifted.
The break in arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which was announced just days after the Nov. 6 election that Trump lost to current President Joe Biden, is also linked to Yemen. Critics fear that the two Arab nations could use advanced US weapons to continue the Saudi-led war in Yemen, with a significant risk of civilian casualties. The department billed the temporary suspension, which includes stopping a $ 23 billion transfer of F-35 stealth fighters to the UAE, as “a routine administrative action” for a new administration.
Blinken said sales are being examined to see if they meet US national security goals.
As for Afghanistan, Blinken said the Biden administration wanted to take a detailed look at the February 2020 peace deal negotiated between the Trump administration and the Taliban to try to get American troops out of the country after nearly 20 years of war. “We have to understand exactly what is in agreement” before deciding how to proceed, he said. Khalilzad, the main American negotiator, was asked to stay at work so that he could “continue the vital work he is doing”.
As for Iran, Blinken reiterated Biden’s previous comments to parliamentarians himself at last week’s confirmation hearing. Blinken said the administration is ready to ease the sanctions the Trump administration has imposed on Iran again, as long as Iran returns to full compliance with the 2015 agreement. At that time, Blinken said the administration will seek to strengthen and strengthen extend the terms of the agreement. But, he said, “we are far from this point.”
Biden has promised to reverse Trump’s approach, which had alienated many traditional American allies who perceived it as a harsh one-sided approach that left no room for negotiation. Blinken said that after four years, the United States will re-engage with allies on a reciprocal basis, rather than on a purely transactional basis.
“People are watching us right now,” Blinken said. “They want to know if we can heal our nation. They want to see if we can lead by example and give our first diplomacy together with our allies and partners to meet the great challenges of our time – such as the pandemic, climate change, the economic crisis, threats to democracy, fighting for racial justice and the danger to our global security and stability posed by our rivals and opponents. ”
Blinken, a 58-year-old confidential Biden, has been confirmed as the 71st Secretary of State by the Senate on Tuesday in a 78-22 vote. The position is the highest position of the Cabinet, the secretary being the fourth in the line of presidential succession. A former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, Blinken has promised that the US global leadership has returned and that the State Department will be “central” in this regard.
Blinken inherited a deeply demoralized and exhausted workforce at the State Department. Neither of Trump’s two immediate predecessors, Rex Tillerson or Pompey, offered strong resistance to repeated attempts to destroy the agency. These were thwarted only by the intervention of the congress.
Blinken said he would promote and protect the foreign service, which had been excluded during the Trump era, and that after four years of atrophy, the State Department would once again play a major role in America’s relations with the world.