Informal Communication

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Davos, Switzerland

World Economic Forum

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  John, thank you very much.

(Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you.  Good afternoon.  John, my old friend, thank you very, very much.  And as always, here, it’s particularly good to be with leaders from across government, business, civil society.  So when you think about soil, the U.S. Secretary of State is probably not the first person who comes to mind.  (Laugh

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Treaty Room

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning.  It’s a great pleasure to welcome Chairperson Faki here to the State Department, to Washington, for what is now our ninth High-Level Dialogue between the African Union and the United States.  I think this reflects the vital and increasingly close partnership between the United States and the AU, and it also reflects the critical role that the AU plays not only reg

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

New York City, New York

Rockefeller Foundation

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Thank you very, very much.  So we’re, what, about halfway through High-Level Week, I think – (laughter) – which is known at the department basically as speed-dating for diplomats.  And we have lots of events, lots of meetings, lots of gatherings.  But I have to tell you I was really looking forward to this particular meeting, this particular gathering,

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Good morning, everyone.

AUDIENCE:  Good morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Dean Steinberg, Jim, thank you for the honor of joining the SAIS community to help inaugurate this truly magnificent new home.

Jim has contributed so much over his remarkable career, but his most lasting contribution is the generation of thinkers, the generation of d

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

QUESTION:  Well, we’re now joined by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the Black Sea Grain Initiative and food security.  He’s joining us from Washington, D.C.

Secretary Blinken, thanks so much for making time for Focus on Africa.  And I’ll get straight into it.  Russia says it will only return to the Black Sea grain deal if reconnected to the SWIFT payment system.  And all this is happening w

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Via Translation

QUESTION: Hello, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Hello.

QUESTION: Thank you for answering RFI’s questions.  You recently accused Russia of blackmail regarding the Black Sea Grain Initiative.  Indeed, Moscow demanded several conditions for their participation in the agreement.  Is the United States willing to negotiate?

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

The United States welcomes and commends the strong leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government to defend constitutional order in Niger, actions that respect the will of the Nigerien people and align with enshrined ECOWAS and African Union principles of “zero tolerance for unconstitutional change.” We join ECOWAS and regional leaders in calling for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum and his f

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Karuizawa, Japan

The Prince Karuizawa

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Let me – let me start with the situation in Sudan.  For the past 36 hours, we and our partners have been focused on how to stop the widespread fighting in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.  Indiscriminate military operations have resulted in significant civilian deaths and injuries, and are recklessly endangering the Su

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Niamey, Niger

Presidential Palace

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for taking this opportunity.  We appreciate it.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Shaun.  Good to be with you.

QUESTION:  Thanks.  I wanted to ask you – I understand you’re going to announce some assistance today for the Sahel, but I wanted to ask you more broadly about the Sahel strategy.  This has been a few months since the French ended th

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa University

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good evening, everyone.  It is great to be back in Africa, but also to make my first appearance to Ethiopia as Secretary of State.

I’m here in Ethiopia – and then on to Niger – to reaffirm the pledge that President Biden made at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit late last year.  As he put it, the United States is “all in on Africa, and all in with Africa.”  That mea

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Office of the Spokesperson

The following is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:

Secretary Blinken met with the signatories of the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). Government of Ethiopia National Security Advisor Redwan Hussein and TPLF Spokesperson Getachew Reda shared the progress that has been achieved so far: silencing of the guns, delivery of humanitarian assistance, restoration of services as well as the disarmament of Tigrayan heavy weapons and significant withd

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