MR PATEL: Hey, everybody. Good afternoon and thank you very much for joining this press conference in anticipation of Secretary Blinken’s travels to Munster, Germany for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting. This call is being recorded; and joining us today we have Acting Principal Assistant Secretary Nerissa Cook from the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, as well as Acting Deputy Secretary Howard Solomon for our Bureau of Eurasian Affairs as well. We’ll have some time for questions and answers at the end, but with that, I’ll first turn it over to Senior Assistant Secretary Nerissa Cook.
MS COOK: Thank you very much, Vedant. I am very pleased to be with all of you today and with my colleague, Acting Deputy Secretary Howard Solomon of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. As mentioned by Vedant, I am Nerissa Cook. I act as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of International Organizational Affairs.
Tomorrow, Secretary Blinken travels to Munster, Germany to participate in a meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers at the invitation of Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7 this year. I first want to note our thanks to Germany for hosting the G7 and the first U.S.-Germany Future Forum. In this call, I will preview very briefly some of the issues to be discussed at the G7 and note some of the key elements of the schedule.
The G7 Foreign Ministers’ meetings are important opportunities to show leadership on common goals and values, and to address international security challenges. The Secretary again looks forward to the opportunity to engage with counterparts on various important issues. The Secretary will have meetings focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine, (inaudible) on the world, strategic challenges and engagements in Africa, partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, Iran and Central Asia.
I will now turn to the Secretary’s schedule as it stands. He is scheduled to arrive in Munster on Wednesday, November 2. On Thursday, November 3, he will join German Foreign Minister Baerbock at the US-German Future Forum in Munster for a moderated discussion titled “The Future of Democracy in a Digital World.” The 2022 Future Forum will bring together US and German experts and next-generation leaders from civil society, academia, the private sector and government for two days to address the interaction of democracy and technology.
The Secretary will then engage (inaudible) foreign ministers, focusing on Russia’s war against Ukraine. The day will conclude with a reception for G7 foreign ministers, and a working dinner framed by a discussion of the G7’s shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific.
On Friday, November 4, the Secretary will attend morning briefings focused on the ongoing protests in Iran and the regime’s violent response. Other discussion topics will include regional stability, infrastructure, energy and climate issues in Central Asia. A working lunch with senior African officials from Ghana, Kenya and the African Union will focus on regional issues, including the Sahel, northern Ethiopia and the Great Lakes. This will be followed by a family photo.
The Secretary will then attend an afternoon meeting on strategic challenges for the G7 and Africa. Attendees will discuss the global consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine, particularly food and energy security. The foreign ministers will conclude this G7 meeting with a public release of the president’s statement on the topics discussed in Munster, and also with a joint statement with African representatives on the challenges discussed.
And that concludes a brief summary of the schedule of events for the G7 meetings, and with that I’ll turn it over to you, Vedant.
MR PATEL: Thank you very much. We will now try to do some questions and answers. Our speakers do have a difficult exit, so we will pay attention in time. But, Operator, could you please repeat instructions to ask questions?
OPERATOR: Again, if you would like to ask a question, press 1 and 0 on your telephone keypad.
MR PATEL: Why don’t we go to Ed Wong’s line with the New York Times first.
QUESTION: Hello Vedant. And hello, everyone. thank you My question is: Can you give us some background on the energy-related discussions that will take place? I know that the G7 finance ministers have said that they plan to implement an oil price cap at the same time that the embargo – the partial embargo takes place at the beginning of December in Europe. Can you discuss where things stand now and will that be a topic of conversation at this meeting?
MR SOLOMON: Yes, this is Howard. So, there has certainly been a lot of close coordination with the EU and with our bilateral European partners on the response to the reinvasion of Ukraine by Russia. As we have seen, there have been several editions of sanctions by the United States Eight packages introduced by the European Union. And among the different measures was, of course, the idea of a price cap. And so, I fully expect that – this is something that was recently adopted in the recent European Council, I believe, in terms of measures that the European Union is implementing, so I’m sure that our other G7 partners, not just the Europeans, will be keen to continue that a discussion
MR PATEL: Let’s go straight to Michaela Kuefner’s line with DW News.
QUESTION: Yes, hello. I have a question because German Chancellor Scholz will go to China, because Secretary of State Blinken will talk with other G7 foreign ministers about strategic interests – also in the Asia-Pacific region. What expectation will he convey from Germany, especially against the background of Germany now allowing China to have a stake in the Hamburg port? And also ongoing discussions about a chip factory being sold – to a Chinese owned company? Does this match the expectations of a strategic partner? Will that be raised by Secretary Blinken, and is it consistent with the expectations that the United States has of Germany?
MR SOLOMON: Yeah, this – Howard jumps in again. So, we have a very robust discussion with our German counterparts. And the Secretary, I’m sure, will have an excellent discussion with Foreign Minister Baerbock on a variety of topics, including the challenges and the opportunities presented by the PRC. We are well aware of the upcoming trip and, of course, of the cases you have laid out. But in general, not only with Germany but with our other partners, there is a growing convergence of views on approaches to the PRC, on the challenges that are presented and the possible opportunities, as well.
I think we have recognized that of course there is a need to coordinate on a matter of making sure that we have stability in relation to the cross-Strait tensions, and looking at concern about some of the statements that have come out of the recent ones. 20th Party Congress on Taiwan. So, I’m sure – not to preempt discussions, but there will be a discussion about it. Of course, looking at the issue of fair trade practices, intellectual property protection, human rights concerns in Xinjiang, Tibet and other areas – and these are all areas where we work closely with Germany and other partners as well.
So, I think that in this case we are looking forward to a very good discussion in the framework of the G7. And as I said, there seems to be a growing unity in terms of positions and approaches. finished
MR PATEL: Okay. That – it seems – those are all the questions we have today. Thank you all so much for joining. Actually, wait, no – just to see another one come in. wait Why not go to Reuters’ Humeyra Pamuk’s line?
QUESTION: Hello. Thank you for that. Surely, we cannot end with two questions. Just wondering about – I was just wondering, about Ukraine, what the overall message will be as we go into the winter months – and who will affect the battlefield. We have also seen some protests across Europe due to the rising energy bills. It is known that there are disagreements about some aspects of the war between the United States and Europe. Do you – how confident are you that you will be able to show transatlantic unity or, like, in general, just unity when it comes to Ukraine?
And second, I’m specifically wondering if the United States will ask Germany to do more in terms of security assistance to Ukraine. thank you
MR SOLOMON: Yeah, Howard jumps in again. Thanks for that question. I think there has been really, tremendous cooperation from our European partners regarding the response to the current situation in Ukraine. There are some lines of effort, especially as we head into winter. We continue to talk about ways we can support Ukraine, and I’m sure this conversation will continue within the G7, looking at things from macroeconomic financial support, direct budget support, to military assistance, to humanitarian aid, support. for refugees, and to help Ukraine also in terms of reconstruction. And we just had a summit or a meeting hosted by Germany on October 25th about that.
So yes, of course, there are challenges presented. And with recent developments, whether it’s with the unprecedented and heinous attacks by Russia against critical infrastructure of Ukraine and targeting civilian infrastructure and civilians, to address the problem of food security and unfortunately Russia’s withdrawal from the UN-brokered agreement, I think, that there are many things in common. positions and solidarity – I think also between populations even within Europe, within the United States, according to the need to support the heroic efforts of Ukraine to oppose this invasion by Russia, or reinvasion. finished
MR PATEL: Thank you. Next let’s go to Warren Strobel’s line with The Wall Street Journal.
QUESTION: Yes, thank you for that. I was wondering if you could talk a little more about the discussions that will take place regarding Iran and its domestic situation. Is it primarily just to show support for the protesters’ goals, or do you think the ministers will discuss next specific steps they can take to help, such as help with disrupted communications and so on?
MS COOK: This is Nerissa and I’ll take that. I think the – one of the main focuses, as I said before, will be on the ongoing protests in Iran and the regime’s response. But I would not be surprised if other elements of Iran are discussed, but we do not want to prejudge how that discussion goes.
MR PATEL: Let’s go next to Laurie Mylroie with K24.
QUESTION: My question was just asked, but maybe I could press Nerissa a little more. The Iranians sell vital weapons to Russia for its unprovoked and aggressive war in Ukraine. Don’t you expect this to be a problem especially since Europe is a neighbor of Ukraine; no entity is more threatened by that war than Europe. Don’t you think that Iranian arms sales to Ukraine – to Russia will also be a problem?
MS COOK: I think it will probably be that way, yes.
MR PATEL: Laurie, I have no doubt that a wide range of malign activities by Iran in the region, particularly the proliferation of their UAV networks that we’ve seen in use in Ukraine, will be discussed. But as Nerissa said, we just don’t want to get ahead of the meeting or the process, and because some of these events will have stronger readings after they happen.
Thanks again, everyone, for joining. That’s all the time for questions we unfortunately have for today. As I said, this call is on the record, and we’ll talk to you all again very soon.
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