A common desire to advance transatlantic relations. The foreign ministers of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States have declared their intention to “revive” transatlantic ties Friday February 5, following their first meeting since President Joe Biden took office in Washington on January 20.
“Foreign ministers agreed that they wanted to relaunch the traditionally strong transatlantic partnership, and jointly face global challenges in the future.”, they said in a statement. “This first in-depth exchange between foreign ministers since the inauguration of President Biden has been characterized by a confident and constructive atmosphere.”
According to the press release, European ministers and their new American counterpart, Antony Blinken, spoke of the Iran nuclear deal, which has been in tatters since former President Donald Trump withdrew his country in 2018. The three European signatory countries of the agreement in 2015 and the United States “discussed how a unified approach could address our common concerns about Iran”, tweeted the British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, on Twitter described the discussions as “important conversation about Iran” and on how to handle “together” challenges related to nuclear power and regional security.
We had a deep and important exchange on the Iranian file with @SecBlinken, @HeikoMaas and @DominicRaab to jointly tackle nuclear and regional security challenges. We also touched on other important current issues.
– Jean-Yves Le Drian (@JY_LeDrian) February 5, 2021
These virtual exchanges were also an opportunity to address a range of other topics, including the Covid-19 pandemic, relations with China and Russia and global climate policies, Berlin said.
Antony Blinken a “underlined the US commitment to coordinated action to overcome global challenges”, said US diplomacy spokesman Ned Price. Words that contrast with the policy of the lone rider and the“America first” of the Trump administration.
The heads of diplomacy have “affirmed the central role of the transatlantic relationship in addressing issues of security, climate, economy, health and other challenges facing the world”, added Ned Price.
