U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin

Slovenia’s National Day
06/25/2023

Slovenia’s National Day
06/25/2023 12:02 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

On behalf of the United States of America, I offer our best wishes to the people of Slovenia as you honor your Statehood Day.

Congratulations once again on your election to the UN Security Council for 2024-2025. I am confident Slovenia will meaningfully contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security. This milestone builds on your emergence as a vibrant democracy, a champion of good governance and rule of law, and a regional leader in promoting security and Euro-Atlantic integration in the Western Balkans.

Building on our shared values as partners and NATO Allies, we grow stronger together because of our cooperation on important issues like clean and reliable energy and expanding the economic ties between our countries. I look forward to ensuring that our deep friendship continues to strengthen in the year ahead.


Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Jonathan Karl of ABC This Week
06/25/2023


Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Jonathan Karl of ABC This Week
06/25/2023 11:08 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Via Teleconference

QUESTION: Joining us now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. You’ve been briefed this morning. What can you tell us about the very latest in the situation on the ground in Russia?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Jon, look, it’s still a moving picture and I doubt we’ve seen the last act, and I also don’t want to speculate because it is something that continues to move. But I think we can say this much: First, we’ve seen some very serious cracks emerge. You have Prigozhin publicly questioning the very premise for this Russian aggression against Ukraine in the first place, the notion that somehow Ukraine or NATO presented a threat to Russia. You have someone challenging Putin’s leadership very publicly and very open – and very openly. And of course, if you put this in context, 16 months ago Putin was on the doorstep of Kyiv in Ukraine looking to take the city in a matter of days, erase the country from the map. Now, he’s had to defend Moscow, Russia’s capital, against a mercenary of his own making.

So I think this is clearly – we see cracks emerging. Where they go, if anywhere, when they get there, very hard to say. I don’t want to speculate on it, but I don’t think we’ve seen the final act.

QUESTION: So it sounds like you’re saying this is not over. I mean, it seems hard to believe that Putin, who is known for executing his critics, would allow Prigozhin to move away as a free man – amnesty. I mean, what are you – is the rebellion really over?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: So much that is beneath the surface has now surfaced again in terms of questioning the very premises for the war, in terms of questioning the conduct of the war, in terms of questioning what good this has actually done for Russia. And of course, it’s been exactly the opposite. This has been a devastating strategic failure for Putin across virtually every front – economic, military, geopolitical standing – and fundamentally, what it’s done or not done for the Russian people.

Having said that, Putin of course has put in place a state that’s designed around him with control of the media, control of the information space. So again, I don’t think it’s right for us to speculate on where this may go. We are intensely focused on Ukraine, which we’ve been all along, and that is making sure they have what they need to defend the country and to take back territory that’s been seized from them by Russia over the last 16 months. That’s where our focus is.

QUESTION: Have you spoken to your Russian counterpart? Have you spoken to Lavrov?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I have not, but others in the administration have spoken to Russian counterparts, primarily because we want to make sure that Russia understands its obligation to look out for the well-being of American citizens and our personnel who are in Russia. They have obligations to do that. We wanted to make sure that those were front and center as this was all unfolding.

QUESTION: Has the President tried to reach out to Putin?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: He has not.

QUESTION: And what surprised you, what surprised the administration more – the rebellion itself or how quickly it seemed to end?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Look, on one level I don’t think this was a surprise. I think everyone has seen the rising tensions over many months from Prigozhin, who has very publicly criticized, questioned, raised issues in ways that I think were very striking. And so you could see this – these – this tension mounting, mounting, mounting. And again, Jon, I don’t want to speculate about where this may go. There still may be other chapters. Our focus has to be and remains resolutely on Ukraine.

The President, yesterday, got immediately – not only brought his national security cabinet together, but brought together the leaders of our key allies and partners. There is absolute unity, both of purpose and in action, in terms of supporting Ukraine, making sure they have what they need to defend themselves. And that’s where our focus is; that’s where the President’s focus has been.

QUESTION: And is this – on balance, does it look like a positive development for the world, for Ukraine, because it shows chaos and weakness in Moscow, or are you concerned about the real dangers of instability in Russia?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, it can be – it can be both at once. To the extent that the Russians are distracted and divided, it may make their prosecution of the aggression against Ukraine more difficult. On the other hand, of course when you have instability of any kind in a major country like Russia, a major power, that is cause for concern. So it’s something that we’re watching very, very carefully.

QUESTION: And Prigozhin’s forces were among the most brutally effective in Ukraine. What happens to them now? I mean, are they moving out with him? Are they being kind of taken in by the Russian military? What happens?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: The short answer is we don’t know, which is why, again, speculating on what comes next is probably not the smartest thing to do. There are lots of unanswered questions, including the questions of what happens to Prigozhin’s forces. Do they remain in Ukraine? I mean, we saw the extraordinary image of these forces coming out of Ukraine and going into Russia just yesterday.

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: So we simply don’t know. But again, that doesn’t change our focus, and our focus remains on Ukraine in making sure that it can defend itself effectively against this ongoing Russian aggression. That’s where the focus is.

QUESTION: And will Ukraine be able to take advantage of that instability, of that uncertainty? I mean, this is —

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well —

QUESTION: The offensive is – the counteroffensive is underway.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: The counteroffensive —

QUESTION: And it’s been going slowly by – according to some —

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, these are early – these are early days for the counteroffensive.

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: And there has been a lot of focus on making sure that the Ukrainians have what they need to be as successful as possible on the ground, and we’ll see how that unfolds over the coming weeks and even coming months. But again, to the extent this presents a distraction, a loss of focus for the Russians, that may help the Ukrainians on the battlefield. We have to remain, and we are – and this is not just the United States. This is dozens of countries around the world who have been supporting Ukraine, that the President brought together again just yesterday to make sure that we maintain the unity that we’ve had that’s been extremely successful in supporting the Ukrainians.

QUESTION: Do you have any sense of what Prigozhin was offered to turn around? I mean, he was, by some accounts, about 125 miles from Moscow. What did he get in return for this besides amnesty?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I don’t know, and I’m not sure we’ll fully know, or it may be something that unfolds in the coming – in the coming days and weeks. We simply don’t have a clear picture of that. And this really is fundamentally an internal matter for the Russians. We’re seeing it unfold. Again, we saw the rising tensions over – over a – over several months that led to this. But exactly where this goes, we don’t know.

But what we do know is that we’ve seen real cracks emerge – again, a direct challenge to Putin’s authority surfacing very publicly: the notion that this war, this aggression by Russia was being pursued under false pretenses; the notion that Ukraine or NATO somehow presented a threat to Russia that it had to deal with militarily. That’s now much more out in the open than it’s been. What that leads to, again, we just don’t know at this point.

QUESTION: How do you explain that? Prigozhin was the one that was pushing aggressively for a harder line in Ukraine to take – he wanted more resources. He was responsible, again, for some of the few victories the Russians have had there. And now he sounds like an anti-war – a critic of the war itself, like you said, questioning the very basis for the war.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Look, I can’t put myself in Prigozhin’s head, which is probably a good thing.

QUESTION: Yeah, probably. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I mean, keep in mind: Just like Putin, he’s been responsible for horrible brutality in Ukraine against innocent Ukrainian civilians. In country after country in Africa, where Wagner is present, and wherever it’s present, death and destruction and exploitation follows. So I can’t put myself in his head. And he is in many ways a creation of Putin and a creation of Putin that was useful to Putin in Ukraine because Wagner was throwing more and more people into a meat grinder that Putin made himself, and that was useful because the regular Russian forces weren’t able to do the same thing.

So again, where this – what has actually caused this apparent split and where it goes from here, we can’t speculate. Our focus is and will remain on Ukraine itself and making sure we’re helping the Ukrainians.

QUESTION: And finally, Mr. Secretary, what does it say about Putin’s hold on power? I mean, he seemed to have an iron grip over Russia just a week ago. What do you think now?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: It raises lots of questions that we don’t have answers to. As I said before, I think you see cracks of different kinds that have emerged. These are in a sense different in that it’s internal. When you’re being challenged from within, as Putin has been over the last few days, that also raises profound questions. But we’ve seen, I think, lots of different cracks that have emerged in the conduct of this aggression, because everything Putin has tried to accomplish, the opposite has happened. Russia is weaker economically. It’s weaker militarily. Its standing in the world has plummeted. It’s managed to strengthen and unite NATO. It’s managed to alienate and unite Ukrainians. It’s managed to get Europe off of dependence on Russian energy.

In piece after piece, issue after issue, what Putin has tried to prevent, he’s managed to precipitate. And Russia’s standing is vastly diminished as a result. Now, add to that internal dissention. Again, we can’t speculate on where this goes. We have to remain and we are focused on Ukraine, but it certainly raises new questions that he’s going to have to address.

QUESTION: Secretary Blinken, thank you very much for your time this morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Jon.




Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Dana Bash of CNN State of the Union
06/25/2023

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Dana Bash of CNN State of the Union
06/25/2023 11:46 AM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

QUESTION: Here with me now is Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Thank you so much for joining me today. This march, within 120 miles of Moscow. Prigozhin then abruptly stopped, turned around yesterday afternoon. What happened? Why?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Dana, we don’t have full information, obviously, and it’s too soon to tell exactly where this is going to go. And I suspect that this is a moving picture and we haven’t seen the last act yet.

But we can say this. First of all, what we’ve seen is extraordinary, and I think you see cracks emerge that weren’t there before – first, in having Prigozhin raise front and center, questioning the very premises of the Russian aggression against Ukraine to begin with – the argument that somehow Ukraine or NATO posed a threat to Russia – and a direct challenge to Putin himself.

So think about it this way. Sixteen months ago, Russian forces were on the doorstep of Kyiv, Ukraine, thinking they were going to take the city in a matter of days, erase the country from the map. Now they have to be focused on defending Moscow, Russia’s capital, against mercenaries of Putin’s own making. So this raises lots of profound questions that will be answered, I think, in the days and weeks ahead.

QUESTION: I understand this is very much a moving and a fluid situation. One thing that Senator Marco Rubio said – he is, of course, a top Republican on the Intelligence Committee – he says that top military officials in Russia may have been replaced in order to get Prigozhin to back down. Have any top – many top – any top military officials – forgive me – like the defense minister been ousted, as far as the U.S. knows?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: We haven’t seen that yet. But again, I think we’ll see this unroll further in the days and weeks ahead. There’s no secret to the fact that Prigozhin was very much a critic of the military leadership, the minister of defense, the head of the armed forces. So how this now unfolds in terms of personnel, all of that, remains to be seen.

We are intensely focused on Ukraine and making sure that Ukraine continues to have what it needs to defend itself, to take back the territory that the Russians have seized over the past 16 months. And we’re very focused on maintaining the unity of purpose and action that has been a hallmark of Ukraine’s success to date. The President brought together not only the national security cabinet yesterday, but brought together leaders from among our key allies and partners. He instructed the rest of us to fan out to engage all of our allies and partners to make sure we were closely coordinating and keeping the focus where it needs to be: on Ukraine, on the efforts that they’re making to take back the territory that Russia’s taken from them.

QUESTION: I understand that. But just staying on Vladimir Putin for a minute, do you believe that this is the beginning of the end for Vladimir Putin?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I don’t want to speculate about that. This is, first of all, an internal matter for Russia. What we’ve seen is this, though. We’ve seen this aggression against Ukraine become a strategic failure across the board. Russia is weaker economically, militarily. Its standing around the world has plummeted. It’s managed to get Europeans off of Russian energy. It’s managed to unite and strengthen NATO with new members and a stronger Alliance. It’s managed to alienate from Russia and unite together Ukraine in ways that it’s never been before. This is just an added chapter to a very, very bad book that Putin has written for Russia.

But what’s so striking about it is it’s internal. The fact that you have, from within, someone directly questioning Putin’s authority, directly questioning the premises that – upon which he launched this aggression against Ukraine, that in and of itself is something very powerful. It adds cracks. Where those go, when they get there, too soon to say. But it clearly raises new questions that Putin has to deal with.

QUESTION: You talked about Ukraine, of course. Ukraine did launch simultaneous counteroffensives against several Russian fronts while all of this was happening. What is your understanding of the latest on the ground in Ukraine, and will they be able to take advantage of the chaos on the battlefield? How much is the U.S. and U.S. allies, NATO, leaning into the chaos in order to take advantage?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: So these are early days for the counteroffensive. It’s going to play out over weeks, maybe even over months. The Ukrainians have in hand what they need to be successful. It’s challenging. It’s a tough terrain. The Russians have put in place lots of defenses over the last months in anticipation of this counteroffensive. But it is progressing.

And to the extent that Russia is now distracted, that Putin has to worry about what’s going on inside of Russia as much as he has to worry about what he’s trying to do – not successfully – in Ukraine, I think that creates an additional advantage for the Ukrainians to take advantage of. But regardless, they are pressing forward. They have a clear plan. They’re pursuing it.

QUESTION: Well, and the Ukrainian foreign minister – I know you heard this – he says it’s time for the U.S. and others to put the foot on the gas, give Ukraine everything it needs to finish this. Is that going to happen?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, I spoke to my friend and counterpart Dmytro Kuleba just yesterday. We speak – we speak pretty regularly. And throughout, we have worked to make sure that the Ukrainians have what they need when they need it to do as well as they possibly can on the ground. We’ll continue to do that. We’re relentlessly focused on this. There’s tremendous unity of purpose and unity of action among dozens of countries that, through the President’s leadership, we’ve brought together and kept together, and we’ll continue to do that.

QUESTION: Secretary Blinken, Russia has nearly 6,000 nuclear weapons, the largest stockpile in the world. This situation really revealed that this very large nuclear power is facing some major instability. Are you confident that the nuclear weapons are secure? And more broadly, how concerned are you about Russia being unstable right now?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Anytime you have a major country like Russia that has signs of instability, that’s something of concern and something that of course we’re very focused on. When it comes to their nuclear weapons, we’ve seen no change in their posture and we’ve made no change in our own posture, but it’s something, of course, we’re looking at very, very carefully.

QUESTION: On Vladimir Putin, last year the President said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” Is that still the American position?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: These are decisions for the Russian people, and this entire chapter is an internal matter. It obviously has profound repercussions outside of Russia, including potentially in Ukraine. But fundamentally, this is a Russian matter. It’s not our business. It’s not our purpose to choose Russia’s leaders. That’s up to the Russian people, and we have no beef with the Russian people. On the contrary, what is one of the many, many tragedies of what Putin has done in Ukraine is what it’s done to the Russian people. And you really have to ask, how has this in any way improved the lives of Russians? Of course it hasn’t; it’s made them worse. But these are questions that the Russians have to resolve for themselves.

QUESTION: I have to ask you about China. You just went to Beijing last week. It was an attempt to smooth frayed relations with China. Two days later, President Biden called Xi Jinping a dictator, which angered China so much that they issued an official diplomatic reprimand to the U.S. ambassador. Was the President wrong to call Xi Jinping a dictator?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Dana, it’s very clear that when it comes to China, we are going to do and say things that they don’t like; they are going to do and say things that we don’t like. If you look at what comes out of the Chinese foreign ministry every day about the United States, you’d hear plenty of that.

But the purpose of the trip, at the President’s instruction, was to try to bring a little bit more stability to the relationship, to demonstrate that we’re committed to managing it responsibly – which really is an obligation for us and an expectation that countries around the world have – and to be able to deal very directly with our differences.

There’s no secret about those differences. There’s no secret about concerns we have about democracy, about human rights, about some of the actions that China is taking around the world. And being able to have better, stronger, sustained lines of communication – it means we can talk about these differences directly. We can work through them where we can, but at the very least avoid misunderstandings, avoid miscalculations. That’s the fastest way to go from the competition we’re in to a conflict we want to avoid.

So I think on those terms the visit was positive. And again, one of the things I told the Chinese is that we’re going to continue to do things and to say things that you don’t like.

QUESTION: Do you – do you believe —

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Just as you’re going to do the same. And we’ll work through them.

QUESTION: Do you believe that Xi Jinping is a dictator?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: The President speaks clearly. He speaks candidly. I’ve worked for him for more than 20 years. And he speaks for all of us.

QUESTION: Okay. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good to be with you, Dana.




U.S.-EU: Consultations between U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and European External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino
06/25/2023

U.S.-EU: Consultations between U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and European External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino
06/25/2023 11:26 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

On 22 June 2023, United States Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and External Action Service Secretary General Stefano Sannino met for the fifth high-level meeting of the U.S.-EU Dialogue on China and the fourth meeting of the U.S.-EU High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific.

Under Secretary Nuland and Secretary General Sannino discussed recent U.S. and EU engagements with China and the trajectory of their respective bilateral relationships. They stressed the importance of purposeful, results-oriented interactions and keeping open channels of communication with China. They reiterated that the U.S. and EU relations with China remain multifaceted and emphasised the need to calibrate approaches in light of China’s actions as well as the broader geopolitical context. Under Secretary Nuland and Secretary General Sannino reiterated openness to continued substantive engagement with China both in areas of common interest and on challenges where China has global responsibility.

They highlighted the need to strengthen economic resilience, including through work on de-risking, establishing a level-playing field for trade and investment, and to reduce risks from excessive dependencies in sectors such as critical minerals needed for a secure energy transition. They stressed concern about the use and threat of economic coercion, which undermines the international rules-based order and multilateral trading system, including the WTO. They stressed the importance of strengthened assessment, preparedness, resilience, deterrence, and responses to economic coercion, including of other partners, as agreed at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on 19-21 May.

Under Secretary Nuland and Secretary General Sannino discussed China’s position on Russia’s illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. They reaffirmed that direct or indirect support for Russia’s war efforts, including circumvention or undermining sanctions against Russia and arms transfers, would be met with a strong reaction and have consequences for our respective relationships with China. They exchanged information on each side’s message to China on the need for a complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire territory of Ukraine in its internationally recognised borders as a key part of a just and lasting peace. They also discussed engaging China to use its influence with Russia constructively, notably with regards to children and prisoners of war, nuclear safety, and humanitarian support. At the same time, they expressed continued concern about China’s repeated and ongoing information manipulation, including amplification of pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda concerning Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, particularly in partner countries.

In this respect, they confirmed the need for improved global outreach to emphasise the importance of upholding the rules, values, and principles of the international system and international law, including the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter. They discussed prospects for, and practical steps towards, deepening partnerships with emerging and developing economies, as well as for enhanced exchanges on our respective engagements.

On Taiwan, they underscored the overriding importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait (the “Strait”), where the United States, the EU, and countries worldwide have clear interests, and regional and global security and prosperity are at stake. They expressed concern about the steady increase in People’s Liberation Army activities in the Strait. They reiterated their commitment to maintaining the status quo and their opposition to any unilateral actions from either side which undermine cross-Strait peace and stability. They stressed that any instability in the Strait resulting from escalation, accident, or use of force would have major economic and security implications for the region and globally. They called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues and reaffirmed that their long-standing basic positions on Taiwan remained unchanged, including their respective one China policies.

Under Secretary Nuland and Secretary General Sannino discussed the importance of continued close coordination on China’s human rights violations, both domestic and overseas. They committed to collaborate on countering China’s transnational repression tactics and measures, which target individuals around the globe.

Under Secretary Nuland and Secretary General Sannino also held the fourth high-level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific. They reiterated U.S.-EU shared commitment to enhancing coordination and cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific which is inclusive, prosperous, secure, based on the rule of law, and protects shared principles including sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful resolution of disputes, fundamental freedoms and human rights. They shared their respective assessments on several geopolitical trends shaping the situation in the Indo-Pacific, which call for enhanced engagement with partners in the region.

They reaffirmed the importance of U.S. and EU efforts on regional connectivity, notably in the framework of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) and the EU’s Global Gateway. They reviewed opportunities for cooperation and synergies offered by the U.S.-EU shared support to regional cross-border initiatives and committed to build on recent discussions on electricity market integration in South Asia and on port security across the Indo-Pacific. They welcomed the recently signed memorandum of understanding between the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which will facilitate strategic investments including in the Indo-Pacific.

They welcomed the success of the first joint U.S.-EU naval exercise, conducted in March 2023. They intend to take new steps to advance practical maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including facilitating the EU’s involvement and participation in INDOPACOM’s naval exercises and planning conferences in the region. Given their shared commitment to enhancing maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific, they also intend to establish further technical exchanges in this area, including on ways to ensure maximum complementarity between the U.S. SeaVision and the EU-funded IORIS systems.

They reaffirmed plans to continue to safeguard against and respond to foreign information manipulation and interference, including in the Indo-Pacific, through coordinated, complementary programming and information exchanges on best practices in supporting free and resilient media environments. They further assessed the threats posed by widespread use of information manipulation.

Under Secretary Nuland and Secretary General Sannino stressed the importance of increasing coordination on cyber cooperation with the Indo-Pacific region. They intend to initiate dedicated efforts under the annual U.S.-EU Cyber Dialogue to foster joint actions related to cyberspace issues in the Indo-Pacific via activities supporting cyber capacity-building and confidence building measures, including in the context of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

They also emphasised the importance of encouraging ongoing efforts in the region to end discrimination and violence against people on the grounds of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics, in order to advance the human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons.

Under Secretary Nuland and Secretary General Sannino reaffirmed the intent of the U.S. Department of State and the European External Action Service to continue their close coordination on China and the Indo-Pacific and hold the next rounds of the Dialogue on China and High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific in Washington, D.C. before the end of 2023.

EEAS Secretary General Sannino recalled his close cooperation with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman as they co-chaired the U.S.-EU Dialogue on China, the U.S.-EU High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific and other areas of foreign policy over the course of the past two years. Ahead of Deputy Secretary Sherman’s retirement from the U.S. Department of State, Secretary General Sannino expressed his warm congratulations and deep gratitude for the Deputy Secretary’s dedication to advancing the transatlantic relationship throughout her remarkable career. Secretary General Sannino highlighted Deputy Secretary Sherman’s tireless commitment to working with the European Union in response to shared foreign policy priorities and global challenges. Secretary General Sannino thanked Deputy Secretary Sherman personally for her friendship and cooperation, and underlined that her leadership had been key in advancing the U.S.-EU partnership.




Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Chuck Todd of NBC Meet The Press
06/25/2023


Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Chuck Todd of NBC Meet The Press
06/25/2023 12:11 PM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

QUESTION: And joining me now is the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. Secretary Blinken, welcome back to Meet the Press.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Chuck.

QUESTION: Let me just start with your observations. What did we just see over the weekend? And the reason I ask that is because, look, this is a country that misinformation is a feature, not a bug. Sometimes there’s theater. What should we believe with what we just witnessed in the last 48 hours in Russia?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, Chuck, if you put this in perspective, what we’ve seen is extraordinary. Think about it this way. Sixteen months ago, Russian forces were on the doorstep of Kyiv in Ukraine, believing they would take the capital in a matter of days and erase the country from the map as an independent country.

Now, what we’ve seen is Russia having defend Moscow, its capital, against mercenaries of its own making. So in and of itself, that’s extraordinary. And in so doing, we’ve also seen rise to the surface profound questions about the very premises for this Russian aggression against Ukraine that Prigozhin surfaced very publicly, as well as a direct challenge to Putin’s authority.

So I think we’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian facade. It is too soon to tell exactly where they go and when they get there. But certainly we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months ahead.

QUESTION: What was amazing is what wasn’t said. Vladimir Putin didn’t blame the West for this – didn’t blame it during his very strident speech nor the after the fact. What do you make of that?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: It’s hard to put myself in Putin’s head or Prigozhin’s, for that matter. And keep in mind: Both individuals are responsible for terrible acts committed against the Ukrainian people – also, in the case of Wagner, in country after country in Africa, wherever Wagner goes, death and destruction and exploitation follow. But I think it does point to the fact that this an internal matter. This is a challenge coming from within to Putin, and that’s where his focus has been.

Our focus is resolutely and relentlessly on Ukraine, making sure that it had what it needs to defend itself and to take back territory that Russia has seized. The President brought together the national security cabinet, he brought together our key allies and partners to make sure that the unity of purpose, the unity of action that we’ve had with regard to Ukraine remains. And it does.

QUESTION: The president of Belarus apparently mediated this. That seemed startling because this is somebody that is portrayed by many Western analysts as simply a puppet of Putin. Puppets don’t often mediate their puppeteers here. So what do you make of this? Are we underestimating Belarus here?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I think it’s important for us not to speculate, and I suspect that we’ll learn more and more in the days and weeks ahead, including the actual details of whatever deal was struck. It may be that Putin didn’t want to debase himself to the level of negotiating directly with Prigozhin, so it was useful to get someone like Lukashenka into this on his behalf. But again, that is speculation. We want to avoid that. We want to focus on the facts, and we want to keep the focus on Ukraine.

QUESTION: There was some reports over the weekend that U.S. intelligence analysts seemed to think something was up. How – what you ended up seeing versus what the intelligence said, how accurate was it?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, Chuck, I’m obviously not going to comment on intelligence matters. What I can say is this. I think it’s been no secret to many people over many months that these tensions were rising, they were brewing. Prigozhin was already saying some rather extraordinary things about Russia’s conduct of the war in Ukraine and going directly at Russia’s military leadership. So this was a rising storm, but I’m not going to comment on the intelligence itself.

QUESTION: The dismantling of the Wagner Group – first of all, do you believe it’s being dismantled? And if so, what does this mean in Africa and Syria?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Too soon to tell. We’ll see if this means that Wagner forces are coming out of Ukraine. I mean, the very fact that, over the weekend, Wagner forces were coming out of Ukraine and going into Russia and toward Moscow in and of itself is extraordinary. But where this goes, whether those forces remain in Ukraine, whether they become integrated into the regular Russian military, what it means for Wagner in Africa – too soon to tell.

But the fact that this is, at the least, an added distraction for Putin and for Russia I think is to the advantage of Ukraine. It continues to move forward with the counteroffensive. These are early days, but they have in hand what they need to be successful. It’s going to unfold over weeks and even months. But this just creates another problem for Putin.

And keep this, too – in mind, too, Chuck. This is just the latest chapter in a book of failure that Putin has written for himself and for Russia. Economically, militarily, its standing in the world – all of things have plummeted. We have a united NATO that’s stronger than ever before, a Europe that is weaning itself off of Russian energy, Ukraine that Putin has managed to alienate and unite at the same time. Now, with trouble brewing from within, this, as I said, just adds more questions that he has to find answers for.

QUESTION: I know that whether ‑‑ but no changes to their nuclear posture. Was there open communication on that front, military to military, on the nuclear issue over the weekend, or not?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Chuck, I’m not going to get into what diplomatic or other communications we had with Russia. But of course, we’re very focused anytime there is instability in a major country like Russia, particularly one with nuclear weapons. There has been no change in their nuclear posture; there’s no change in our nuclear posture. But it’s something that we’re watching very carefully.

QUESTION: Does the instability give you hope that there’s an opening for the American citizens that are being held captive in Russia right now, or do you fear there’s going to be a clamp-down and this will make it harder?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I don’t want to speculate on that. We’re, as always, regardless of anything else that’s happening, intensely focused on making sure that we do everything possible to bring home Americans who are unjustly or arbitrarily detained, including in Russia. That focus will remain.

QUESTION: Does this go to full speed ahead for the Ukraine counteroffensive? Is this a moment of opportunity?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Chuck, it is full speed ahead for their – for the counteroffensive. But they have a plan and they have a very deliberate plan. They’re prosecuting that plan. And we have more than 50 countries that continue to support them in that effort to make sure that they have everything they need to do as well as they can in taking back the land that was seized from them by Russia over the last 16 months. That is in train, but it’s going to take some time – weeks, maybe even months.

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: There are very strong defenses that the Russians have built up in recent months that the Ukrainians are working their way through. But at the end of the day, the bottom line really is this – and it’s the reason that Ukraine will prevail. This is about their land; this is about their future. This is about their freedom, not Russia’s. And that is, in a sense, the real difference maker that you’re going to see unfold.

QUESTION: We originally booked you to talk about your China visit. (Laughter.) That’s why you were to come on. I want to ask you: Within 24 hours after you leave China, President Biden refers to Xi Jinping as a dictator. And the Chinese Government chose to be offended, and I – the reason I word it that way is they didn’t have to. We know this. A lot of times countries allow – domestic rhetoric as domestic political rhetoric. We ignore rhetoric sometimes with countries overseas. Why do you believe the Chinese decided to be so publicly angry over this comment?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Chuck, I can’t put myself in their minds. What I can say is this. I went to China at the President’s instruction to try to bring a little bit more stability to the relationship. We have an obligation to responsibly manage that relationship; China does as well. And we hear that from countries around the world. And restoring strong lines of communication, making sure that we can talk directly about the many and profound differences we have as well as looking for places that we might be able to cooperate, that’s important. And I think we put that in train.

But part of my visit was to tell them very clearly that we are going to continue to do things and we’re going to continue to say things that you don’t like or won’t like, just as you’re doing things and saying things that we don’t like. But we have to work our way through them, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

QUESTION: So no apology for the dictator comment is coming?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Again, I’ve been very clear that we will continue to do as we’ve always done, which is to stand up for our interests, stand up for our values, and say what we think. And at the same time, again, they’re doing the same thing.

QUESTION: Are we going to prevent China from having a military base on the island of Cuba?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: We have been not only looking but also engaging in a number of countries over the last couple of years where China is trying to get a foothold, and we’ve been engaged diplomatically in a number of places.

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: And we’ve had some success in either preventing that, delaying that, or turning that around. We continue to do that. I’ve raised that directly with my Chinese counterparts. They know where we stand on that issue.

QUESTION: I noticed you say you raised it with your Chinese counterparts. There are – we don’t – we have no relations still with Cuba. I mean, this decision to pull back relations with Cuba, did we not just throw them into the arms of the Chinese?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: No, we actually have raised this with the Cubans as well. So they also – for them, there’s no secret about the concerns that we have —

QUESTION: Right. But are —

SECRETARY BLINKEN: — and the fact that we’re watching this very carefully.

QUESTION: Are we going to make sure it doesn’t happen? Is this a line in the sand?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Again, we’ve made clear that this is a real concern. And as I said, in a variety of places where China has tried to get a foothold, militarily or with intelligence, we’ve been not only looking at that, we’ve been taking action to try to push back, and we’ve had some success.

QUESTION: All right. Secretary Blinken, Secretary of State, I know it was a long weekend. Appreciate you coming on and sharing —

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Chuck.

QUESTION: — your perspective. Thank you, sir.




Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Margaret Brennan of CBS Face the Nation
06/25/2023

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Margaret Brennan of CBS Face the Nation
06/25/2023 12:25 PM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Via Teleconference

QUESTION: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is one of the many top Biden administration officials who’s been monitoring the events of the last two days, and he joins us from the State Department. Good morning to you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good morning, Margaret.

QUESTION: Can you tell us who in the Biden administration has been in touch with Russian leadership?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, I instructed my own team at the President’s behest to engage with the Russians, first and foremost to make sure that they understood their responsibilities in terms of protecting our own personnel, ensuring their safety and well-being, as well as any American citizens in Russia. So a number of people have engaged to make sure that the Russians got that message.

QUESTION: Is the U.S. ready for further unrest in Russia and the scenario that Vladimir Putin does not remain in power?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Margaret, this is an unfolding story and I think we’re in the midst of a moving picture. We haven’t seen – we haven’t seen the last act. We’re watching it very closely and carefully.

But just step back for a second and put this in context. Sixteen months ago Russian forces were on the doorstep of Kyiv in Ukraine thinking they’d take the city in a matter of days, thinking they would erase Ukraine from the map as an independent country. Now, over this weekend, they’ve had to defend Moscow, Russia’s capital, against mercenaries of Putin’s own making. Prigozhin himself in this entire incident has raised profound questions about the very premises for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in the first place, saying that Ukraine or NATO did not pose a threat to Russia, which is part of Putin’s narrative.

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: And it was a direct challenge to Putin’s authority. So this raises profound questions. It shows real cracks. We can’t speculate or know exactly where that’s going to go. We do know that Putin has a lot more to answer for in the weeks and months ahead.

QUESTION: But is the U.S. prepared for the potential of the fall of the Putin government, and is their nuclear stockpile – the largest in the world – secure?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: We always prepare for every contingency. In terms of what happens in Russia, it’s an internal matter for the Russians to figure out. Of course, when we’re dealing with a major power and especially a major power that has nuclear weapons, that’s something that’s of concern. It’s something we’re very focused on. We haven’t seen any change in Russia’s nuclear posture. There hasn’t been any change in ours. But it’s something that we’re going to watch very, very carefully.

QUESTION: Vladimir Putin is appearing on television this morning, but it appears to have been prerecorded. Do you know the whereabouts of Vladimir Putin right now? Is he in Moscow?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I don’t want to – I don’t want to speculate on that or what information that we have. Again, we’re watching that carefully.

I think one of the things this tells you is that we still don’t – don’t have finality in terms of what was actually agreed between Prigozhin and Putin. I suspect that we’re going to learn more in the days and weeks ahead about what deal they struck. The President brought together not only the national security cabinet yesterday, he brought together the leaders of our key allies and partners. He instructed all of us to do the same. We have tremendous unity of purpose and unity of action when it comes to supporting Ukraine, and that’s where our focus is.

QUESTION: But as you just said, Prigozhin drew into question the very premise for Vladimir Putin’s war, so —

SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right.

QUESTION: So do the Wagner fighters return to the fight in Ukraine? Do we know?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Too soon to tell what’s going to happen to the Wagner forces, whether they go back to the fight. I mean, it was extraordinary that they were moving out of Ukraine and into Russia. But it’s too soon to tell whether they’re going to go back into the fight as Wagner, whether they get integrated into regular Russian forces, what this means for Wagner in other parts of the world. I mean, keep in mind —

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: — both Putin and Prigozhin are responsible for committing terrible acts in Ukraine against Ukrainian civilians. But also in the case of Wagner, in country after country in Africa, wherever Wagner is, death and destruction and exploitation follow.

QUESTION: Yes.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: But all of this is likely to unroll in the coming days, in the coming weeks. To the extent that it presents a real distraction for Putin and for Russian authorities that they have to look at – sort of mind their rear even as they’re trying to deal with the counteroffensive in Ukraine, I think that creates even greater openings for the Ukrainians to do well on the ground.

QUESTION: Well, as you just indicated, Yevgeny Prigozhin has a footprint that goes from Africa to Syria to Ukraine. Do you have any idea where he is right now?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I can’t get into what we know or don’t know through intelligence. It’s something that we’re looking at and that we’re tracking.

QUESTION: One of the things Prigozhin did was directly undermine the Russian military leadership. Do we know who is in charge of the Russian military right now, and how could Vladimir Putin agree to any changes in the leadership of his military and still look like he’s in charge?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Those are great questions, and I think we’ll get the answers in the days and weeks ahead. It’s too soon to say with any – any certainty what the final chapter in this particular book is going to be. The rising storm of Prigozhin inside of Russia is something that many people have seen over months now: direct challenges to the leadership – to the military leadership; powerful criticism of Russia’s conduct of its aggression against Ukraine; and now questioning the very premises of the war, Prigozhin himself saying that Ukraine and NATO did not pose a threat to Russia, which has, as you know, been part of Putin’s narrative.

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: These create more cracks in the Russian façade, and those cracks were already profound. Economically, militarily, its standing in the world – all of those things have been dramatically diminished by Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. He’s managed to bring Europe together. He’s managed to bring NATO together. He’s managed to get Europe to move off of Russian energy. He’s managed to alienate Ukrainians and unite Ukraine at the same time. So across the board this has been a strategic failure. Now you introduce into that profound internal divisions, and there are lots of questions he’s going to have to answer in the weeks ahead.

QUESTION: Is there a possibility of civil war?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I don’t want to speculate on that. These are fundamentally internal matters for the Russians to figure out. It’s not our place to do that.

QUESTION: Will President Biden reach out directly to Vladimir Putin? Has the CIA director reached out to Russian intelligence?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Margaret, I’m not going to get into any diplomatic contacts that we may have or have had. I can tell you that on my instruction, on the President’s instruction, we had some engagement with the Russians over the weekend to make sure they understood their responsibilities when it comes to looking out for the safety and security of our personnel in Russia – very important that we do that and we did that.

QUESTION: I want to ask you about Beijing. I was there with you earlier this week and I listened to you pick every single one of your words very carefully. And then on our way home, President Biden called Xi Jinping a dictator with economic problems who didn’t know what his own military was doing by flying the spy balloon over the United States. How much did that hurt the work you did?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Margaret, one of the things that I think you heard me say during the trip and after the trip is that the main purpose was to bring some greater stability to the relationship. But one of the things that I said to Chinese counterparts during this trip was that we are going to continue to do things and say things that you don’t like, just as you’re no doubt going to continue to do and say things that we don’t like. And if you look at what comes out of the Chinese foreign ministry on a daily basis, you’ll hear that.

QUESTION: Are you saying that was a strategic remark?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: The President always speaks candidly, he speaks directly, he speaks clearly, and he speaks for all of us.

QUESTION: You also said that Chinese officials assured you they won’t provide lethal assistance to Russia but that Chinese companies are. According to U.S. Treasury, Chinese companies have also done business with the Wagner Group. Have you reached out to the Chinese about trying to gauge what is happening on the ground inside Russia now?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Again, I can’t get into any diplomatic contacts that we may or may not have had. But you’re exactly right that when it comes to the visit, the Chinese did reiterate to us as well as to many other countries that they have not and will not provide lethal military assistance to Russia for use in Ukraine. I also raised the concerns that you said about Chinese companies providing that kind of support and pressed them to be vigilant about that. I’m sure they’re making their own assessments about what’s happened inside of Russia in recent days.

QUESTION: Secretary Blinken, thank you for your time this morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Margaret. Good to be with you.




Secretary Blinken’s Call with Serbian President Vucic
06/26/2023

Secretary Blinken’s Call with Serbian President Vucic
06/26/2023 06:33 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to urge the de-escalation of tensions with Kosovo. The Secretary welcomed the news of the release of the three Kosovo police officers. The Secretary also reiterated those responsible for attacks on Kosovo Force (KFOR), the NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, should be held accountable, emphasized continued U.S. support for the EU’s three-point plan, and urged Serbia to immediately take steps to implement its commitments under the normalization agreement.




Secretary Blinken’s Call with Kosovan Prime Minister Kurti
06/26/2023
Secretary Blinken’s Call with Kosovan Prime Minister Kurti
06/26/2023 06:29 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti today to urge immediate de-escalation in the north of Kosovo, including continuing to call for mayors to work from alternate locations. The Secretary also reiterated U.S. support for the EU’s three-point plan and thanked Prime Minister Kurti for his participation in the June 22 leaders’ meeting in Brussels.




Joint Statement by the Troika on Sudan and South Sudan
06/27/2023


Joint Statement by the Troika on Sudan and South Sudan
06/27/2023 09:15 AM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Begin Text

The Department of State hosted special envoys from Norway and the United Kingdom June 21-22 to discuss as members of the Troika the ongoing conflict in Sudan, and the need for coordinated international pressure to stop the fighting, protect civilians, and ensure unhindered humanitarian access. Troika envoys condemned the widespread human rights violations, conflict-related sexual violence, and targeted ethnic violence in Darfur, mostly attributed to soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias, and reiterated calls for the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces to control their forces, ensure respect for human rights, and hold accountable those responsible for attacks against civilians. The envoys expressed deep concern that increased fighting in Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile and other periphery areas risked further broadening the conflict and urged leaders of armed movements inside Sudan to stay out of the fight and support peace and a negotiated end to the conflict. They reiterated support for the Sudanese people’s demands for freedom, peace, and justice.

Troika members also discussed South Sudan and the transitional government’s lack of progress toward fulfilling its peace agreement. They agreed on the urgent need for the transitional government to meet its commitments without delay. These include taking all steps necessary to complete the deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces, as well as preparation for free, fair, and peaceful elections. Along with the State Department’s Sanctions Coordinator, they discussed the transitional government’s failure to manage the country’s oil revenue transparently with companies and associations operating in or providing services to companies in South Sudan’s oil sector. Noting the arrival of more than 130,000 people who have fled conflict in Sudan into South Sudan since April 15, the Troika urges the transitional government to provide and facilitate support for them.

End Text




Additional U.S. Security Assistance for Ukraine
06/27/2023

Additional U.S. Security Assistance for Ukraine
06/27/2023 02:25 PM EDT



Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Pursuant to a delegation of authority from President Biden, I am authorizing our 41st drawdown for Ukraine, which will provide $500 million worth of U.S. arms and equipment from Department of Defense stocks. This security assistance package will support Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive operations with equipment directly tailored for Ukraine’s needs on the battlefield today. This round of assistance includes Bradley and Stryker vehicles, additional munitions for air defense systems, artillery, and multiple launch rocket systems, anti-tank weapons, anti-radiation missiles, precision aerial munitions, and other essential resources to bolster Ukraine’s forces battlefield survivability, help them retake Ukraine’s sovereign territory, and defend their fellow citizens.

The enduring courage and solidarity of the people of Ukraine continues to inspire the world. Russia started this unprovoked war against Ukraine. Russia could end it at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks against Ukraine’s cities and people. Until Russia does so, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes.




Secretary Blinken’s Call with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis
06/27/2023

Secretary Blinken’s Call with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis
06/27/2023 07:11 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to congratulate him on his electoral victory. The Secretary reaffirmed our close partnership with Greece and welcomed continued cooperation in promoting regional stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean ahead of this year’s NATO Summit. The Secretary thanked the Prime Minister for Greece’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.




12th U.S.-EU Space Dialogue Held in Brussels
06/28/2023

12th U.S.-EU Space Dialogue Held in Brussels
06/28/2023 04:00 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson

Hosted by the European Union, officials from the United States and the European Union met for the 12th U.S.-EU Space Dialogue June 26-27 in Brussels, Belgium. The delegations discussed cooperation on a wide range of space activities including growing security concerns, space cybersecurity and space situational awareness, and spaceflight safety coordination. The dialogue also sought to strengthen longstanding cooperation between the United States and Europe on both global navigation satellite systems and Earth observation activities.

The U.S. delegation was led by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jennifer R. Littlejohn and Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Mallory Stewart. The delegation included representatives from the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense, the Department of Interior, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The European Union delegation was led by European Commission Director General for Defense Industry and Space Timo Pesonen and European External Action Service Managing Director for Common Security and Defense Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss. The delegation also included representatives from the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites and the European Space Agency. For media inquiries, please contact OES-PA-DG@state.gov.