Biden plans first major foreign policy speech on restoring ‘America’s place’

Biden plans first major foreign policy speech on restoring ‘America’s place’

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Biden’s speech will focus on the theme of ‘restoring America’s place in the world’, one of his key campaign promises, and will coincide with his first trip to a cabinet agency. He plans to visit the state department to meet with newly installed secretary Antony Blinken, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday.

To make a first stop there, rather than the Pentagon or CIA, is meant to emphasize Biden’s renewed focus on restoring American alliances and using diplomacy as a tool abroad, an official said.

Although his speech is not expected to detail the details of a new strategy on China, Iran, North Korea, Russia or other US opponents, he will seek to establish his foreign policy to ally too sharp and to return to the Trump administration after multilateralism. , which was characterized by one-sided conduct and contempt for traditional diplomacy.

Biden has spoken by telephone to about half a dozen foreign counterparts since taking office, but has been particularly publicly focused on the coronavirus pandemic and domestic executive action. He rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization and indicated that he wanted to renew American commitments abroad.

A draft calendar of the administration’s opening days obtained by CNN mentions ‘Restoring America’s place in the world’ as a theme for February.

Biden campaigned for a pledge to renew U.S. alliances that were strained under former President Donald Trump. His calls last week to the leaders of Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan all sought to bolster his promise to strengthen ties with traditional American allies.

He did speak to one opponent – Russian President Vladimir Putin – in a call that was described by officials as businesslike but direct. The White House said Biden had addressed a range of issues, including cyber security and the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

Blinken, who was sworn in last week, spoke out on Sunday against the use of “harsh tactics” against pro-Navalny protest rallies in Russia.

“We reiterate our call for the release of Russia detained for the exercise of their human rights,” he wrote.

The State Department, which will visit Biden on Monday, saw a sharp drop in morale among Trump, who liked to refer to the agency as the “Deep State Department” and constantly viewed his professional staff with skepticism.

Last week, Blinken addressed the mood in his first remarks to employees, saying he ushered in a new era.

“I know that the State Department I am running for today is not the same as the one I left four years ago,” he said, referring to his time as Deputy Foreign Minister. “A lot has changed. The world has changed. The department has changed. ‘

Biden is expected to resign from State Department employees when he visits the building on Monday.

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