Informal Communication

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Tokyo, Japan

The Okura

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good evening, everyone.  We just concluded a pretty packed two days – coming at a very intense time for our countries and for the world.

I want to begin by thanking Foreign Minister Kamikawa for the very warm hospitality here in Tokyo, and to her and Prime Minister Kishida for Japan’s leadership during this historic year for the G7.

The G7 has strengthened its role as the steering co

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Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta, Ambassador-at-Large Office of Global Women’s Issues

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

AMBASSADOR RAO GUPTA:  Good afternoon, and welcome to the Department of State.  My name is Geeta Rao Gupta and I serve as ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues here in the State Department.  It is my honor an

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

The Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  And joining me now is Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  Mr. Secretary, welcome back to Meet the Press.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, Kristen.

QUESTION:  So the big question on everyone’s mind, Mr. Secretary:  How did Israel, how did the United States miss what Hamas was planning?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, put this in perspective –

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  We go now to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who joins us from the State Department here in Washington.  Good to have you with us, Mr. Secretary.  I know you have been working —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Margaret.

QUESTION:  — straight through on this.  Can you answer the question yet of whether the Hamas assault is over?  Are there more attacks

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us this morning.  I know you’ve been working through the day, through the weekend.  What is the United States doing right now?  What comes next?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, George, first, to put this in perspective – and as some of your correspondents just said – this is the worst attack on Israel since 1973, the Yom Kipp

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Austin, Texas

The University of Texas at Austin

MR EDGAR:  All right.  Welcome, everyone.  Please, if you haven’t already, take your seats, and we’ll begin the program shortly.  My name is Paul Edgar, and I am the interim executive director of the Clements Center for National Security.  On behalf of the Clements Center and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, welcome to a conversation on the state of foreign aff

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good afternoon.  Welcome.  Welcome back to the State Department for so many of you.  Welcome to the Ben Franklin Room, newly refurbished.  A lot went into this.  And I think maybe a word about Ben Franklin before we get to today’s event.

As you all know, he was America’s first diplomat, ambassador to France, negotiated our first treaty, charted the Gulf Stream, pioneered el

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

New York City, New York

Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you all very much.  I have to say, it’s a little bit humbling to speak after Jason, who has been an extraordinary profile in courage, an extraordinary profile in absolute determination to move all of us to a better place on this issue that in so many ways is, for me, one of the most profound things that I have to deal with in my job.  And I su

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

New York City, New York

Palace Hotel

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you, Uzra.  And I actually did not want to interrupt the important intervention that was going on.  (Laughter.)  So we can continue that, or I’m – I’ll pick it up later.  But I am so gratified to see so many colleagues here today both from governments but also from the private sector.  I think it speaks to the importance that we all attach to this effort, initiative,

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Treaty Room

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Crown Prince Salman, Your Royal Highness, welcome back to the State Department, to Washington, a city that I know you know very well from your student days just up the road at American University.  We’ve had the chance to discuss that before.  Things have changed a little bit on campus, but we’re delighted to have you back in Washington.

And to the National Security Advisor

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Regions: Bahrain , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Climate and Environment, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Treaties and International Agreements

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

Kyiv, Ukraine

FOREIGN MINISTER KULEBA: (Via interpreter) Tony, welcome to Kyiv.  I think that there is – we don’t need any formal greetings because during this time with joint work – specifically with the beginning of the large-scale invasion – our relationship with the Ukraine and United States, they went to such level that we don’t need a – we need everything – what we need is just open and sincere conversation.  And this is what

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Aspen, Colorado

Aspen Meadows Resort

MS MITCHELL:  Good morning, everyone.  It’s wonderful to be back in Aspen, and especially after such a great program all week, and most especially to be with Secretary Blinken.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.

MS MITCHELL:  Tony Blinken, of course, you all know, but – (applause) – I think this is your first time here since becoming Secretary.

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Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Combating Drugs and Crime, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Dean Acheson Auditorium

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good afternoon, everyone.  Secretary Manalo, Secretary Galvez, it has been an honor to host you at the State Department for the third ever – and first since 2016 – U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial alongside Secretary of Defense Austin.  Today’s meeting builds on the momentum of the high-level U.S. visits to the Philippines just over the past year, including by Vice Presiden

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Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Burns Auditorium

ASSISTANT SECRETARY NICHOLS: Good morning. Buenos días. I would like to welcome all of you, especially our guests from Colombia. Bienvenidos a todos. This is the 10th year we mark the – this High-Level Dialogue, and we are honored to host this year. The High-Level Dialogues present remarkable opportunities to engage at a deeper level on our shared interests. The dialogue continu

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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

As the United States continues to support reform, we are also promoting accountability for the actions of those undermining democratic institutions and furthering their agenda for political and personal gain at the expense of peace and stability in the Western Balkans.

Ethnonationalist political parties continue to undermine democratic institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), engage in corrupt behavior, and violate the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA)

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Topics: Combating Drugs and Crime