US State Secy Blinken, EU HRVP Borrell discuss Afghan crisis and AUKUS deal in Washington

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell covered Afghanistan, Russia and China during discussions in Washington on October 14, according to the statement released by State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

"The Secretary and High Representative Borrell discussed developments related to Afghanistan and looked forward to the launch of the U.S.-EU High-Level Dialogue on Russia and the next high-level meeting of the U.S.-EU Dialogue on China, which will occur later this year," according to Price.

Blinken praised the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy and agreed to have high-level meetings on the region in late 2021, according to the statement.

"The Secretary expressed appreciation for the EU’s continuing unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans and commitment to the enlargement process, and he emphasized the need to move forward on accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia," according to the statement.

Blinken and Borrell spoke about their shared worries about rising energy prices and their influence on global economic recovery, and they agreed to organise a US-EU Energy Council ministerial meeting in early 2022.

The AUKUS pact & conflict with EU

With tensions still high as a result of the strategic military and commercial alliance between the US, the UK, and Australia, Josep Borrell arrived on October 14 in Washington for his first visit as European Union's High Representative for Foreign Policy since President Joe Biden took office in January. Borrell met with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Thursday morning.

The AUKUS deal, which stands for Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States, will allow Canberra to purchase Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines produced in the United States. A multibillion-dollar French technology deal to replace outdated Collins submarines with ones capable of responding to a "changing" strategic environment was prevented in mid-September as a result of this. The announcement sparked a diplomatic crisis, and EU leaders, particularly French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, saw it as a setback to hopes that Biden's arrival would usher in a new dawn, or at the very least a change in demeanour, in bilateral relations, following the dark night that the Trump years cast on transatlantic cooperation.

Image: AP