European allies salute U.S. shift
Secretary of state participates in talks after 3-year absence
LONDON — The top diplomats of Britain, France, Germany and the United States met Friday for the first time in almost three years as the European allies welcome America’s return to center stage in world affairs under President Joe Biden.
Britain’s Foreign Office said the foreign ministers of the three European nations and the U.S. secretary of state were holding virtual talks on topics that included Iran, China, Burma, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.
The last time the top foreign affairs officials from the four countries met as a quartet was in April 2018.
The meeting of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian came a day after Biden told U.S. diplomats at the State Department: “America is back. Diplomacy is back.”
Biden has turned away from the “America first” policies of his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, on issues such as climate change and Russia. One of Biden’s first acts as president was reversing Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Biden said Thursday that the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Russian President Vladimir Putin were over. He committed to reversing Trump’s order to withdraw U.S. troops stationed in Germany and ending support for Saudi Arabia’s military offensive in Yemen.
Britain, which is heading the G-7 group of industrialized nations this year and is set to host a global climate conference in November, has welcomed the United States’ renewed focus on engaging with its allies around the world.
The U.K. is also seeking new ways to exert influence now that it has left the European Union, such as working with small groups of like-minded countries on major issues.
Separately, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to advance joint defense projects at a critical time for Europe’s ambitions to take on a greater global role.
Amid signs of a rapprochement between Europe and the U.S. and renewed tensions with Russia, Merkel and Macron on Friday stressed the determination of their countries to develop new European weapons systems. The countries are looking to clear up issues in the coming weeks, Merkel said after a video conference.
The meeting comes at a delicate moment for Europe, as France and Germany seek to establish a defense apparatus that can respond to modern security threats independently of the U.S., which retreated from transatlantic cooperation over the past four years.
European Union leaders will discuss how to reinforce “defense investment, capability development and operational readiness” during a summit starting Feb. 25.
“Strengthening the EU’s security and defense policy will contribute to increasing its ability to act autonomously and to promote its strategic interests and values on the global stage,” the European Council said in a memo sent to delegations ahead of the summit.