March 28, 2024

Top diplomats in the United States, Britain, France and Germany are holding virtual talks

Top diplomats in the United States, Britain, France and Germany are holding virtual talks

London: Senior diplomats from Britain, France, Germany and the United States met for the first time in three years as European allies hailed the return of the United States to the world under President Joe Biden.

The British Foreign Office said in a statement that the foreign ministers of the three European countries and the US secretary of state were holding “virtual talks” on issues such as Iran, China, Myanmar, climate change and the Coronavirus pandemic.

The last visit of senior foreign officials from four countries, the Quartet, was in April 2018.

The meeting between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, German Foreign Minister Heiko Moss, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian took place the day after Biden told US diplomats at the State Department: “The United States is back. Diplomacy is back.”

On issues such as climate change and Russia, Biden has deviated significantly from the “America first” policies of his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. Biden’s first step as president was to reverse Trump’s withdrawal from the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Biden said Thursday that the days of “volatility” between the United States and Russian President Vladimir Putin are over. He was intent on reversing Trump’s order to withdraw US forces stationed in Germany and end Saudi Arabia’s support for a military strike in Yemen.

As the G7 leader prepares to host the global climate summit in November this year, the United Kingdom welcomed the United States’ renewed focus on working with allies around the world.

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Britain is now looking for new ways to exert its influence when leaving the European Union, such as working with smaller groups in like-minded countries on key issues.