German, U.S., UK and French diplomats talk

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 and the U.S. State Department said the foreign ministers of the three European nations and the U.S. secretary of state held virtual talks on topics that included Iran, China, Russia, Myanmar, climate change and the 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.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the ministers had “affirmed the centrality of the Transatlantic relationship in dealing with security, climate, economic, health, and other challenges the world faces.” He added that Blinken “underscored the U.S. commitment to coordinated action to overcome global challenges.” The statement offered no other details.

Biden has turned sharply away from the “America first” policies of 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 U.S. 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 in Germany and ending support for Saudi Arabia’s military offensive in Yemen.