Blinken’s wish to isolate Iran in the region and compromise between Riyadh and Tel Aviv
In a detailed interview, the US Secretary of State expressed his views on current issues at the international level, including the war in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as the formation of the axis of Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea, and the challenges facing his country.
According to Isna, US Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken, who has a little more than a month left in his term in the Washington government, in an interview with the magazine “Foreign Affairs”, always tried to ignore the fact that most problems and wars All over the world, there is a lot of power-seeking, war-seeking and interventionist policies of Washington.
The US Secretary of State said about the developments in the world in the last four years: I think it is clear that we are in a new era, a new stage. The post-Cold War era is over, and there is intense competition to shape what comes next. Some want to reshape the international system in a way that benefits them, whether it’s Iran, whether it’s North Korea, whether it’s Russia or, in various ways, China, they all come into play.
Pointing to the achievements of the current US administration in the economic and domestic spheres, Blinken said: The result is that despite the fact that you have a world that has more diversity, more complexity, more interconnected challenges than at any time since I have been doing this. have done, for over 32 years, we are in a much better condition and a stronger position to meet these challenges.
The war in Ukraine did not start in February 2022, but in 2014
In response to a question about the start of 2 wars in the world during his career, including the war in Ukraine and Gaza and the position of Washington’s foreign policy in these crises, he tried to put the responsibility of these deadly wars on the shoulders of other countries and claimed: The war in Ukraine started in February 2022 It didn’t, but it started in 2014, when Russia has been seeking to expand itself by encroaching on its neighbors and inevitably creating a wider influence.
He continued: Russia has been making this effort for some time, and the problem has reached its peak with the renewed attack on Ukraine in 2022. I think China has also made no secret of the fact that, certainly going back to 2015, it was economically determined to dominate the industries and resources and technologies of the future. But beyond that, we’ve seen the emergence of a policy that is clearly more aggressive abroad as well as repressive at home. So, again, it’s been emerging for a while. This is an evolution.
Claiming that “Washington has been able to dispel the perception of some countries that the United States is declining,” the senior American diplomat said: “We now need more convergence between our allies and partners in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific and Beyond that, we’ve had more control over the way we deal with Russia and the way we deal with China than I can remember.
If the US withdraws, it will see the emergence of more enemies
He talked about the formation of the Iran-Russia-China and North Korea axis, whose aim is to weaken America’s position in the world, and what will the world be like if this group succeeds? “I think if you move forward and they have their way, you’re definitely going to see at least a reassertion of the spheres of influence that the United States and like-minded countries have been kept out of,” he said. You will see greater division and greater divisions in the world. And I think that situation also potentially portends a world of conflict.
“Because I think what history teaches us is that if you get into a world of influence where countries are allowed to treat their own people as well as each other in a way that, despite all of our efforts to ensure that World War III does not happen,” Blinken said. It won’t exist, it’s conflicting, you’re probably headed for a world of conflict. A world where, whether we like it or not, we will remain connected. Where we simply can’t keep our heads under the snow and think that these things happen and keep us safe, keep us sane. Events will inevitably attract us.
So I think that at least we’ve had a period of renewal, renewal of our engagement around the world, renewal of American leadership, renewal of our alliances and partnerships, but the challenge in my view is to use them in new ways, to build a bridge between the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo- Pacific is to create a greater understanding that there really is an indivisibility of security, which affects allies and partners in all these areas.
I think that if we lose that and if we retreat, away from protecting ourselves and away from war and conflict, we will see more of them emerge and inevitably, we will be drawn in. So that’s what I’d be concerned about if we fall back on this renewal period. In my view, we are delivering a strong hand for the next administration to play. He has to decide how to play it.
The approach of Iran, Russia, China and North Korea was a positive choice
In response to what political measures Washington can take to create a gap between these countries, for example between Russia and China, which will later turn into real gaps, the US Secretary of State said that the rapprochement of Iran, Russia, China and North Korea is a positive decision. On the part of these countries, he assessed that, according to him, it is mostly the result of their calculations about their personal interests and weaknesses.
“It brought them together in some ways,” Blinken claimed. But it was really a positive choice, not an answer to us.
He went on to state that Russia and North Korea will probably continue on the path of closer interaction with each other, and claimed that Iran is also in a position of increasing weakness as a result of the actions we have taken and others have taken, even more so to some of It will rely on new relations, especially relations with Russia.
He also said: China has a different choice. Aspires to be a leader. And in his leadership aspirations, I think he needs to assess how his reputation is perceived around the world. China has helped sustain Russia’s war against Ukraine because China is by far the largest supplier. Its companies are the largest supplier to Russia’s defense industrial base – 70 percent of their production goes into things Russia needs to make for war. 90% of microelectronics come from China.
The war in Ukraine has not only been the biggest threat to the people of Ukraine since World War II, but also to the security of Europe as a whole. So I think China needs to ask itself some hard questions about some of the alignments it has with these countries in conflict. I don’t pretend to know what he’s going to decide.
What we have deliberately shown is an attempt to build these bridges between Europe-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific to show that what happens in one place inevitably has consequences for the other. We now have four Indo-Pacific partners in NATO who are part of the NATO dialogue, coming to summits and working on concrete projects. This is not an attempt to remove NATO from the region. This is because issues outside the region come to NATO countries.
Ukraine should integrate with the West
Anthony Blinken about the promise of the elected president of the United States to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours and whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has a real desire to enter into negotiations? He claimed: I don’t see any desire from Putin. Maybe that will change during 2025, but as we look to 2025, we’ve worked very hard to make sure that Ukraine has what it takes to continue fighting until 2025, or if there’s a negotiation, to be able to The position of relative power should be present in it.
Claiming that “Putin sought to remove Ukraine from the map with the start of the war,” he said: Putin was trying to prevent what he did not want, including preventing a stronger and broader NATO that would have more resources with two new members. He was able to accelerate it, but when it comes to Ukraine, that is, to remove Ukraine from the map, he could not do it, and this is a success for Ukraine.
The senior American diplomat claimed: But success in the future is a Ukraine that is strong, independent and increasingly integrated with Western institutions, and that can stand on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically, and Ukraine as a result of the support we provide along the way. Do this. It is made in all these dimensions.
A peaceful Gaza is the key to normalizing relations with Israel
In another part of this conversation, about the continuation of the Gaza war, its impact on the region, and that despite this war, the process of normalizing Israel’s relations with some Arab countries will not continue, he claimed that Washington has always focused on ending the war and returning prisoners.
Blinken went on to try to blame Hamas for starting this war and the failure of the peace talks and claimed: I think that Hamas has been trying to cross the finish line again in a more constructive way in the last two weeks. In my opinion it is because they have seen that the cavalry will not come to the rescue. One of the things they tried to do during this period is to start a wider war, with the entry of Hezbollah, the entry of Iran, the entry of other groups affiliated with Iran.
Without referring to the crimes of the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip in the past year and the lack of political desire and will among the Zionist authorities to end the war, he said: This will not happen, as we have seen and because of the effective policies that we have followed. does not fall
Repeating his claim that Washington has sought to prevent the continuation and especially the expansion of the war in the region, the US Secretary of State claimed: “We have succeeded in this because of the way the United States interacts with Israel for effective defense.” In the face of unprecedented Iranian attacks, as Iran is moving, because we have now been able to work with Israel to get an agreement. An effective ceasefire has been established in Lebanon, Hezbollah has also become very weak, so that it does not enter (war), Hamas must face it.
He added: The question is, where do you go from here? And I think two things are important. First, we must have something to ensure that the ceasefire that is achieved, if it is achieved, is sustainable, and that means a post-war plan that allows Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza, but ensures that the security There will be effective governance and reconstruction in Gaza.
“If we get a ceasefire and a prisoner deal, that’s what we have to move forward with almost immediately and probably leave it to the next administration,” the secretary of state said. The next government will decide what it wants to do.
We need a credible path to a Palestinian state
Continuing his country’s hostile approach towards Iran, Anthony Blinken also stated: But secondly, the situation is long-term and there are 2 ways for Israel and for the region. I believe there is a path that leads to Israel’s sustainable security. This is integration with the region. This integration is accompanied by a common security structure that can further isolate Iran and counter any threat from Iran.
When Iran attacked Israel in such an unprecedented way, we saw the United States for the first time participate in the active defense of Israel, but other countries, with our diplomacy, brought them in, not only in Europe, but in the region. So, you can see where this could go.
He considered the key to achieving this goal to be the normalization of relations between the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia and stated: But for this to happen, we need peace in Gaza, and this is clear from the Saudis’ point of view. But we also need a credible path to a Palestinian state. As far as Saudi Arabia insisted before October 7th, it is now even more convinced, and I have this directly from Mohammed bin Salman (Crown of Saudi Arabia) about his views on the need to have a clear and credible path to I heard an independent Palestinian state.
We have clear expectations from Tahrir al-Sham
Also, in response to a question about the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the American foreign minister tried without any reference to foreign interference and its influence in the formation of this event, he blamed it on Assad himself and claimed that Iran and Russia also Due to their problems, they could no longer continue their support to the Assad regime.
He claimed: “I think you see in what happened in Syria almost the strongest argument in the debate that we have and the policies that we pursue to demonstrate the indivisibility of security and progress around the world: parts of the world and the impact that events have had.” What happens in one part of the world can affect another.
Blinken claimed: “We are now working very hard to create an alignment between all of Syria’s neighbors and the international community about the direction the world and the region hope this will go, because we want to make sure that Syria, especially Hayat Tahrir al-Sham They clearly hear the expectations of the world and the surrounding countries, because they need support. They want recognition and we now have clear expectations.
We know that if Syria becomes a breeding ground for terrorism, a source of massive population displacement, it will have profound consequences for countries beyond Syria. Therefore, I hope that our diplomacy, leadership and engagement will lead to an effort to move countries and move Syria in a direction that will take advantage of this wonderful moment for the Syrian people. Although there is no guarantee for that.
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