U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin

Second Statement on Russia’s War on Ukraine & International Sport
07/05/2022

Second Statement on Russia’s War on Ukraine & International Sport
07/05/2022 11:28 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The text of the following statement was agreed upon by the ministers of sport or their equivalent from the countries and individuals listed at the bottom of the statement.

Begin text:

Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice against Ukraine, facilitated by the Belarusian government, is abhorrent and a flagrant breach of its international obligations. Respect for human rights and peaceful relations between nations form the foundation of international sport.

We, as a collective of like-minded nations, reaffirm our statement of 8 March and, while recognizing the autonomy of sporting organizations, further state our governments’ position that:Russian and Belarusian sport national governing bodies should be suspended from international sport federations.
Individuals closely aligned to the Russian and Belarusian states, including but not limited to government officials, should be removed from positions of influence on international sport federations, such as boards and organizing committees.
National and international sports organizations should consider suspending the broadcasting of sports competitions into Russia and Belarus.

In cases where national and international sports organizations, and other event organizers, choose to permit sportspeople (including athletes, officials and administrators) from Russia and Belarus to participate in sporting events:It should be clear that they are not representing the Russian or Belarusian states.
The use of official state Russian and Belarusian flags, emblems and anthems should be prohibited.
Appropriate steps should be taken to ensure that any public statements made or symbols displayed at sporting events – by any athletes, officials and administrators involved – are consistent with this approach.

We call on all international sport federations to take account of these principles, applaud all those that have taken action already, and encourage our own domestic sporting bodies to engage with their international federations to do so. These restrictions should be in place until cooperation under the rules-based international order has become possible again.

Furthermore, we reiterate our encouragement for the international sport community to continue to show its solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including through supporting the continuation and reconstruction of Ukrainian sport where possible.

Signed by the following ministers or their equivalents:Australia: The Hon Anika Wells MP, Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Sport
Austria: Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler, Minister of Arts and Culture, Civil Service and Sport
Belgium: Valérie Glatigny, Minister for Higher Education, Adult Education, Scientific Research, University Hospitals, Youth Welfare, Houses of Justice, Youth, Sport and the Promotion of Brussels of the French-Speaking Community. This signature commits the French-speaking Community, the Flemish Community and the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Canada: The Honorable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport
Croatia: Dr Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sport
Cyprus: Prodromos Prodromou, Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth Office
Czech Republic: Filip Neusser, President of the National Sports Agency
Denmark: Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, Minister for Culture
Estonia: Liina Kersna, Minister of Education and Research in the responsibilities of Minister of Culture
Finland: Petri Honkonen, Minister for Science and Culture
France: Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games
Germany: Mahmut Özdemir MP, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community
Greece: Lefteris Avgenakis, Deputy Minister for Sports
Iceland: Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Minister of Education and Children
Ireland: Jack Chambers TD, Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht
Italy: Valentina Vezzali, Secretary of State for Sport
Japan: H.E. SUEMATSU Shinsuke, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Republic of Korea: PARK Bo Gyoon, Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism
Latvia: Anita Muižniece, Minister for Education and Science
Liechtenstein: H.E. Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport
Lithuania: Dr Jurgita Šiugždinienė, Minister of Education, Science and Sport
Luxembourg: Georges Engel, Minister of Sport
Malta: Dr Clifton Grima, Minister for Education, Youth, Sport, Research and Innovation
Netherlands: Conny Helder, Minister for Long-term Care and Sport
New Zealand: Hon Grant Robertson, Minister for Sport and Recreation
Norway: Anette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Culture and Equality
Poland: Kamil Bortniczuk, Minister of Sport and Tourism
Portugal: Ana Catarina Mendes, Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and for Parliamentary Affairs (in charge of Youth and Sport)
Romania: Carol-Eduard Novak, Minister of Sports
Slovakia: Ivan Husar, State Secretary for Sport
Slovenia: Dr Igor Papič, Minister of Education, Science and Sport
Spain: Miquel Octavi Iceta i Llorens, Minister of Culture and Sport
Sweden: Anders Ygeman, Minister for Integration and Migration
United Kingdom: The Rt Hon Nadine Dorries MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
United States of America: Elizabeth Allen, Senior Official for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs




Deputy Secretary Sherman’s Meeting with German State Secretary Michaelis
07/05/2022


Deputy Secretary Sherman’s Meeting with German State Secretary Michaelis
07/05/2022 08:45 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with German State Secretary Andreas Michaelis today in Washington, D.C. Deputy Secretary Sherman and State Secretary Michaelis reaffirmed their support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s brutal aggression. The two discussed ways to partner on combatting global food insecurity caused by Putin’s war of choice. Deputy Secretary Sherman and State Secretary Michaelis also discussed U.S.-Germany cooperation in Africa, the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Western Balkans.


Secretary Blinken’s Call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba
07/06/2022

Secretary Blinken’s Call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba
07/06/2022 02:55 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. They discussed the upcoming G20 Foreign Minister meeting in Bali and the outcomes from the G7 and NATO summits, which underscored firm Allied and partner resolve to support Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity from Russia’s unprovoked aggression. The Secretary condemned Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine and provided updates on multilateral efforts to resolve Russia’s military blockage of agricultural exports from Ukraine’s ports. He also discussed U.S. security assistance and previewed further budget support for Ukraine, affirming the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s democratic, free, and prosperous future.




Additional Humanitarian Assistance for the People of Ukraine
07/09/2022
Additional Humanitarian Assistance for the People of Ukraine
07/09/2022 08:36 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

I announced earlier today that the United States is providing nearly $368 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support those affected by Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine. To date, more than11 million people– over a quarter of Ukraine’s population – have been forced to flee their homes due to Russia’s unjustified war, while 15.7 million people require assistance. Since the beginning of President Putin’s full-scale war in February, the United States has provided over $1.28 billion in humanitarian assistance to address this crisis, and we are the largest single-country donor of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

This additional funding, including nearly $288 million through the Department of State and more than $80 million through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide food, safe drinking water, cash assistance, protection, accessible shelter, emergency health care, logistics, and humanitarian coordination.

As we move into the fifth month of Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine, we continue to call for Russia to end hostilities immediately, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access in Ukraine, and allow sustained safe passage for those who seek to flee to safety. We commend our allies and partners who have welcomed those fleeing the war and welcome the European Union’s decision to extend temporary protection status to Ukrainian citizens, granting them work authorization and access to housing and other services.




Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Press Availability
07/09/2022
Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Press Availability
07/09/2022 09:52 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Bali, Indonesia

Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good afternoon, everyone. Let me just start by expressing again my shock and sadness at the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As President Biden said yesterday, this is a tragedy for Japan, a tragedy for his family and loved ones and all who knew him, but also for the world because Prime Minister Abe was a transformative leader, a statesman, someone of truly global stature.

I’ve got to tell you the news of his death was felt very deeply throughout the G20, all of the foreign ministers, and I know it was felt deeply back home in Washington as well. Many of us had an opportunity over these years to work with former Prime Minister Abe during his very long tenure. I actually had a chance to meet with him myself in 2015 when I was Deputy Secretary. I still remember his hospitality, his graciousness. And of course, President Biden had several opportunities to work with him when he was Vice President.

The alliance between Japan and the United States has been a cornerstone of our foreign policy for decades. And as I said yesterday, Prime Minister Abe really brought that partnership to new heights. The friendship between the Japanese and American people is likewise unshakable. So we’re standing with the people of Japan, with the prime minister’s family, in the aftermath of a truly, truly appalling act of violence. And I conveyed this directly as well to Foreign Minister Hayashi when he was here yesterday.

Here in Bali, the G20 nations came together to address some of the most critical challenges facing people around the world, including the far-reaching consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, particularly growing food insecurity, rising energy prices. It’s critical that the international community and especially the world’s largest economies represented here at the G20 take on these problems together in a coordinated way with the urgency they demand, and that was very much the spirit of the meetings that we had.

In the session yesterday we heard the majority of countries condemn Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine, which, among other things, has included the targeting of Ukraine’s entire agricultural infrastructure – fields, warehouses, roads, transportation networks, silos, ports. Again and again, we heard calls from across the world represented in that room for Russia to open the Black Sea for Ukrainian grain shipments.

There was a strong consensus, and Russia was left isolated, as it has been many times since this war began. In fact, Foreign Minister Lavrov left the meeting early, maybe because the messages had become so resoundingly clear. As I said yesterday, the United States strongly supports the efforts of the United Nations in partnership with Turkey to bring Ukrainian and Russian grain to world markets. We need this initiative to move forward, and we need Russia to fully cooperate with it.

We’re also counting on other countries to do their part. At the United Nations about six weeks ago, the United States issued a Call to Action to step up to the food insecurity challenge. To date, 98 countries have signed on to the roadmap that we’ve put forward to address both near-term humanitarian needs and also building longer-term resilience. To date, the United States itself has contributed nearly $2.8 billion in emergency food assistance to Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean.

And then at the G7 summit just two weeks ago, President Biden announced another $2.76 billion to strengthen global food security. This included longer-term investments to support agriculture production and resilience, and we look to other leading economies to step up as well.

We’ll continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people. Today, I can announce the United States will provide nearly $368 million in additional support, including food, safe drinking water, cash assistance, emergency health care, shelter, as well as support to coordination among humanitarian organizations that are doing so much of this critical work on the ground.

More than 11 million people in Ukraine, 11 million people, have fled their homes since the aggression began. That is more than a quarter of Ukraine’s entire population. The needs are tremendous and they’ll only increase as the war continues.

I commend Foreign Minister Retno of Indonesia and the Government of Indonesia for setting an agenda for the G20 that encompassed this and so many other timely, indeed urgent issues. At its best, the G20 brings countries together to mobilize targeted, coordinated action on the challenges that are actually having a direct impact on people’s lives. We saw that with the G20’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we have to bring that same commitment to dealing with the global consequences of this terrible war in Ukraine, which was an assault not only on Ukraine but also on the rules-based international order that has helped to safeguard peace and security worldwide for decades.

I also had an opportunity while here in Bali to meet with many of our allies and partners, including individual meetings with foreign ministers from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, India, Argentina, and Fiji; a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Japan and the Republic of Korea; and a meeting of the transatlantic Quad countries – Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

Earlier today, I met with State Councilor Wang Yi of the People’s Republic of China for a little over five hours. The relationship between the United States and China is highly consequential for our countries but also for the world. We’re committed to managing this relationship, this competition, responsibly as the world expects us to do, leading with diplomacy.

State Councilor Wang and I discussed how we see the state of our bilateral relationship, and I had the opportunity to directly communicate our approach to the People’s Republic of China, as I laid out in a speech a few weeks ago. We talked about regional and global issues in which both of our countries have strong stakes, including the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear program. We discussed where more cooperation between our countries should be possible, including on the climate crisis, food security, global health, counternarcotics. These are each global challenges that require major countries to do their part within the international community.

And of course, we addressed areas of disagreement and ways to manage and reduce risks. I conveyed the deep concerns of the United States regarding Beijing’s increasingly provocative rhetoric and activity toward Taiwan and the vital importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and I relayed our concerns about the repression of freedom in Hong Kong, forced labor, the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in Tibet, the genocide in Xinjiang.

Now, none of these are easy topics, but the United States seeks always to be a consistent voice on human rights and fundamental freedoms, not to stand against China or any other country but to help advance peace, security, and human dignity. As always, I raised cases of Americans who are detained or otherwise unable to leave the country.

Despite the complexities of our relationship, I can say with some confidence that our delegations found today’s discussions useful and constructive. Moving forward, the United States wants our channels of communication with Beijing to continue to remain open. And as always, we’re committed to defending and advancing the interests of the American people and American values in all of our engagements with Beijing.

So I want to end by simply thanking our hosts here in Indonesia for a terrific G20, for Indonesia’s leadership. I think you’ll see it produce results and pay dividends in the weeks and months ahead as we track to the leaders meeting of the G20 this fall.

And with that, happy to take some questions.

MR PRICE: Our first question, we’ll start with Iain Marlow with Bloomberg.

QUESTION: Thank you, Secretary. I’m just wondering: What did you communicate to State Councilor Wang about the role China could play diplomatically in terms of the war in Ukraine and the resultant food and energy crisis, and what was his response?

And secondly, I’m just wondering – Wang is on a much more extensive diplomatic trip of Southeast Asia at the moment than your own and is talking about specific infrastructure projects in Southeast Asian countries, specific investments. I’m just wondering: What does that say about the state of U.S.-China strategic competition in Southeast Asia? Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks very much.

So with regard to Ukraine and with regard to Russia’s aggression there and China’s role in that, I shared again with the state councilor that we are concerned about the PRC’s alignment with Russia. Now, what you hear from Beijing is that it claims to be neutral. I would start with the proposition that it’s pretty hard to be neutral when it comes to this aggression. There is a clear aggressor. There is a clear victim. There is a clear challenge not only to the lives and livelihoods of people in Ukraine, but there is a challenge to the international order that China and the United States as permanent members of the Security Council are supposed to uphold.

So I think it’s hard to be neutral on this. But even if you accept that as a premise, I don’t think that China is, in fact, engaging in way that suggests neutrality. It supported Russia in the UN; it continues to do so. It amplified Russian propaganda. Going back even as Russia was massing its forces, President Xi chose to announce the “no limits partnership” with President Putin. Fast-forward to just a few weeks ago, June 13th. In his call with President Putin, President Xi made clear that he stands by that decision.

More than four months now into this brutal invasion, the PRC is still standing by Russia. It’s echoing Russian propaganda around the world. It’s shielding Russia in international organizations. I believe it’s shirking its responsibility as a P5 member, as I said, and even engaging in joint military exercises. We saw that just recently with a strategic bomber patrol in East Asia.

So what I tried to convey to the State Councilor is this really is a moment where we all have to stand up, as we heard country after country do in the G20, to condemn the aggression, to demand among things that Russia allow access to food that’s stuck in Ukraine because of its blockade, and of course, that it end the war. So that was the nature of the conversation that we had, and I won’t characterize his response.

With regard to the Indo-Pacific more broadly, look, what we’re about is not asking countries to choose but giving them a choice when it comes to things like investment and infrastructure, development assistance, et cetera. There is on one level plenty of room for everyone to do that because the needs are immense, especially when it comes, for example, to infrastructure. But what we want to make sure is that we’re engaged in a race to the top – that is, we do things to the highest standards – not a race to the bottom where we do things to the lowest standards.

And so the work that we’ve been doing in the Indo-Pacific, including with developing the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, including with the Global Partnership for Investment Infrastructure, which would apply in this region as well, is to make sure that investments we’re making, work that we’re doing with countries in the region, go to the highest standards. We make sure, for example, that when we’re conducting investments in infrastructure we’re not ladling countries with debt; that we are advancing the protections for workers, for the environment; that we’re not advancing corruption; that we’re having people from the countries in question actually benefit from getting to do the work on the projects in question; that we build to the highest standards.

My hope would be that if, as China continues to engage itself in all of these efforts that it engages in a race to the top, that it raise its game. That would actually benefit everyone.

MR PRICE: We’ll turn to Laksana Agung.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I have two questions. The first question related to this day (inaudible) and going forward. Is the new cold war going to be the world order? If it’s so, please elaborate, including the impact to global economic politics and so forth. But if not, what kind of new world order that U.S. Government projected after the Russia-Ukraine war and when United States and China competition will dominate international politics over the next decade?

And the second question: Where do you place Indonesia in this regard, and how the U.S. will engage with the Indonesian Government and improve the cooperation between the two countries? Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks. I’ll just start with the second piece first.

Indonesia is a vital partner to the United States. This is now my second trip to Indonesia in this job. I think you can see the vital role that Indonesia is playing in its leadership of the G20 at an absolutely critical time for countries around the world. And what we saw over the last day and what I know we’ll see in the months ahead as we head to the leaders meeting of the G20 is Indonesian leadership setting a very strong and urgent agenda for the leading economies in the world and, as we saw with the foreign minister yesterday, really leading the conversation among all of us and trying to drive toward concrete results. I think this is just evidence of the vital role that Indonesia plays generally and that we’re seeing it play increasingly, and it’s something the United States values tremendously. The same is true across our bilateral relationship – something that the foreign minister and I had an opportunity to talk about yesterday.

With regard to the world order, I think the very point that so many countries emphasized yesterday is that what we’ve seen with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is not only an aggression against the Ukrainian people but an aggression against the basic principles of the world order. Russia is waging a war that is challenging that order as well as challenging Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. It’s failing at both. Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence are clear, and we’re going to have a sovereign and independent Ukraine on the scene a lot longer than President Putin will be on the scene. But meanwhile, the death and destruction is terrible.

But it is also a challenge to the order. And if we were to allow that to proceed with impunity, if we didn’t stand up to Russia’s aggression, then the order that we would have is a world in which might makes right and in which large countries can bully smaller ones. That’s in no one’s interest. That’s a recipe for conflict around the world. It’s a recipe for instability. It’s a recipe for the kinds of things we’ve seen in the past in history that we thought we had moved beyond. So that’s why it’s so important that countries stand up to this aggression, that they insist that the aggression come to an end, and that together we uphold the basic principles that are the foundation of the order.

Now, the last thing I’ll say on – is this. The United States is a strong proponent of this order, of these basic principles that are enshrined in the United Nations Charter, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in so much international law that has followed both of those foundational documents. But we also believe that the order not only has to be defended, it also has to be reformed. It has to take account for the way the world is today, not just the way it was 70 or 80 years ago when these basic building blocks of the order were put into place. And that was also part of the discussion that we had, led by Indonesia, on multilateralism, on the future of multilateralism.

And the one thing we know is this: Not a single one of the problems that we talked about over the last day and that are actually affecting the lives of people can be effectively solved by any one of our countries acting alone, whether it’s the United States, whether it’s Indonesia or any other country. There is a greater imperative than at any time in my career for countries to find ways to work together, to cooperate, to collaborate. And that was the spirit of the G20, and we’re very grateful for Indonesia’s leadership.

MR PRICE: Rahmat Idris.

QUESTION: Your Excellency, Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for this privilege. My name is Rahmat Idris from the Television the Republic of Indonesia, TVRI World. Yesterday’s foreign ministers meeting here in Bali, that it will become a successful platform for all these leaders to come together, that they come to sort of come together, find common ground and truly find solutions to the world crisis that food and energy – food and energy security, as you mentioned, particularly for the nations who are severely impacted by these crises, exacerbated by the ongoing geopolitical tensions and also the war in Europe. And what were some of the more significant deliverables from the meeting that can truly inspire change, be it through the stronger U.S. commitment within the G20 and also the framework of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy?

Thank you, Your Excellency.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much. Let me pick up where I left off. Just it starts with this basic premise, and actually the Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi started with this in our opening session. This basic notion that none of the challenges the world is facing, whether it’s food insecurity, whether it’s rising energy prices, whether it’s the climate crisis, whether it’s global health, not a single one can be addressed by any one of our countries acting alone. We have to find ways to come together and collaborate.

The G20 is one of the most important vehicles to do that because it represents the leading economies in the world that have the resources and the wherewithal to make a real difference on these challenges. And I think what you’ve seen, we had something like 80 percent of global GDP is – was represented in that room yesterday. When we’re able to focus our efforts together, we can have a real impact.

Look at what we’ve done, including through the G20, just on COVID-19 over the last year and a half. Through the work of countries in the G20 we were able to increase the production of and access to vaccines. We were able to make sure that countries had more of a financial cushion, including with debt relief, to deal with some of the repercussions from COVID-19. Most recently, we’ve launched but with other G20 countries involved a Global Action Plan to make sure that even as we have vaccines the shots are actually getting into arms. All of these are concrete results from work the G20 countries are doing.

We focused over the last day on two things. One is, as we just discussed, trying to revitalize multilateralism. And that’s a means of doing things; it’s not an end in itself. But I think what was very, very palpable in the room across the many different geographies that were represented is a strong commitment to do just that. And I think you’re doing to see that play out in the weeks and months ahead.

Second, there was an intense focus on food security. And there, two things. First, if you were Foreign Minister Lavrov sitting in that room, you heard not only a chorus of condemnation when it comes to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, but you heard country after country insisting that Russia let the grain out of Ukraine to get into world markets. The only thing that’s holding it back is a Russian blockade of the Black Sea ports and Odessa. And so we’ll see if Russia got the message. We’ll see by its actions over the coming days and weeks whether it actually cooperates with the effort that the UN is leading in partnership with Turkey to find a good mechanism to allow the grain to get out.

Now look, the easiest way for that to happen is for Russia to end the aggression, end its war, or at least get out of the way when it comes to Odessa. But short of that, this UN mechanism with Turkey would be a good way forward. We strongly support it. Russia needs to cooperate.

More broadly, there have been a series of initiatives taken over the last few weeks to try to deal with the immediate food insecurity crisis as well as the longer-term challenge of building greater resilience. One of those initiatives was something that we did, the United States did, at the United Nations about six weeks ago, where we launched a Call to Action to countries around the world and put out an actual roadmap with seven steps that countries could commit to taking that would address the immediate concern as well as trying to build greater long-term production and self-sufficiency.

As I said, now close to a hundred countries have signed onto that. One of the things we talked about yesterday was that initiative as well as some other initiatives, all of which involved the G20 countries. The need now is to, having made these commitments, to actually implement them, to move forward for example on making sure that the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization have the funding they need, to make sure that fertilizer is being produced and distributed – that’s vital, to work with the international financial institutions to try to cushion the financial blow that countries are feeling as a result of food insecurity, to help them get food, to make the necessary investments in longer-term production and self-sufficiency, to share information more effectively amongst to look at different shortages and where we can target our efforts and resources.

So I think you’ll see coming out of the G20 and also heading into the leaders meeting of the G20 in the fall real action to implement the agenda that we’ve put out there on food security. Thank you.

MR PRICE: Okay, final question from Shannon Crawford of ABC.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary, the majority of the G20 might be netted against Russian aggression, but we heard from virtually every participant here that they want to see peace brokered in Ukraine. And while the U.S. sends weapons to the battlefield, even President Zelenskyy says it will all end at the negotiating table. But through the entirety of the war, you’ve not met – you’ve refused to meet – with your Russian counterpart. Is this out of step with the international community? And by allowing the relationship to further deteriorate, is there not a cost to bear not only in terms of lives lost as the fighting drags on but also for Americans like Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner who are wrongfully detained in Russia?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Let me start with this: With regard to the G20 itself and what we came here to do, I think we had two objectives this week. One was to make sure, as we’ve just discussed, that the world’s largest economies were focused on it’s most urgent problems, following the agenda laid out by the Indonesian presidency. And that’s exactly what we did, particularly with regard to food insecurity.

At the same time, we were determined that we not proceed with business as usual given the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and I think it’s fair to say that we succeeded in both objectives. The discussion yesterday put the spotlight on some of the most pressing challenges we face, as we’ve talked about, and I think it was very important that since Foreign Minister Lavrov was there he heard loudly and clearly from around the world – not just the G7 countries – but many other countries as well, condemnation of Russia’s aggression and a clear call short of ending the aggression to allow food to get out of Ukraine to the world market.

So I think that was very important. The fact that Foreign Minister Lavrov chose not even to attend the session on food insecurity, having I think spent the morning hearing from virtually the entirety of the G20 about the Russian aggression and about the need to stop the blockade of Odessa, I think that was in and itself significant.

At some point this war will come to an end, and it will come to an end through diplomacy. The United States will – is always prepared to find ways through diplomacy to end conflict to bring peace, and that’s the case with regard to this aggression against Ukraine. The problem is this: We see no signs whatsoever that Russia at this moment in time is prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy. A number of other countries in close coordination with us have engaged with Russia in recent months. They report the same thing: no signs that Russia is prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy.

Meanwhile, I think our goal is clear, and you’ve heard the President speak to this at the G7, at the NATO summit, to make sure that we continue the support that we’ve been providing for Ukraine in terms of security assistance, humanitarian assistance, economic assistance. It’s to make sure that we keep the pressure on Russia so that we incentivize to actually engage in meaningful diplomacy. And both of those things will also give Ukraine the strongest possible hand to play when eventually there is a negotiating table. So that’s where we are. That’s where we are now.

But if we see any signs that Russia is actually prepared to engage in real diplomacy and bring this war to an end, of course we’ll engage in that, just as we spent months before the Russian aggression working to address what Russia said were its concerns about Ukraine, the alleged concerns that NATO and/or Ukraine somehow posed a threat to Russia. We engaged directly with the Russians. I spent many weeks doing this myself, including with Foreign Minister Lavrov. We had a NATO-Russia process. We had the OSCE.

What became increasingly apparent is that this was never about security concerns that Russia professed to have, whether a threat from NATO or a threat from Ukraine. It was always about what President Putin now acknowledges front and center about his conviction that Ukraine is not a sovereign, independent country, that it needs to be subsumed into Russia. He spoke about this in St. Petersburg just a few weeks ago. That’s what this has always been about. It’s what it remains about. And until Russia changes that perspective, that conviction, and is willing to end the aggression and engage in diplomacy to do it, this will continue, and we’ll continue to support Ukraine and keep the pressure on. If there is an opportunity for diplomacy, we’ll seize it.

MR PRICE: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Thanks, everyone.


Joint Statement on Support for North Macedonia Opening EU Accession Negotiations
07/09/2022

Joint Statement on Support for North Macedonia Opening EU Accession Negotiations
07/09/2022 10:05 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The text of the following statement was released by United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell to express support for North Macedonia opening EU accession negotiations.

Begin Text:

At this critical moment in European history, marked by the unjustifiable aggression carried out by Russia against Ukraine, advancing Albania and North Macedonia’s EU path is key to strengthening the cohesion and resilience of the entire European continent. Guided by common values and EU standards and benchmarks, both countries are ready to take the next step toward EU membership.

We welcome a compromise proposal which takes into account the interests and concerns of both North Macedonia and Bulgaria based on mutual respect, trust, and understanding. The sovereign decision of the Parliament of North Macedonia will be important to move forward. This spirit of constructive compromise on which European integration is built should continue to inspire all those involved in this historic process.

The European Union and the United States are committed to closer cooperation in the Western Balkans. Ensuring stability and prosperity and making their European and Euro-Atlantic future a reality remains our common goal.

End text.


$400 million in New U.S. Military Assistance for Ukraine
07/09/2022

$400 million in New U.S. Military Assistance for Ukraine
07/09/2022 11:00 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

The Ukrainian people continue to courageously defend their nation in the face of Russia’s unlawful and unprovoked invasion. The United States salutes their bravery, and we will stand by them as long as it takes.

Pursuant to a delegation of authority from the President, I am authorizing our fifteenth drawdown of arms and equipment from U.S. Department of Defense inventories for Ukraine’s self-defense since August 2021 of up to $400 million. This authorization will bring total U.S. military assistance to Ukraine to more than $7.32 billion since Russia launched its brutal, unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 – including $2.2 billion over the last several weeks as we have expedited assistance to help Ukraine defend itself.

Our commitment to the people of Ukraine will not waver, and we will continue to stand united with Ukraine.

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