Blinken heads to last G7 meeting of Biden presidency; Ukraine, Mideast top agenda
Source: ABC News/AP
November 23, 2024, 8:47 AM
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken is leaving Saturday on a diplomatic trip to Europe that includes a meeting of foreign ministers from the leading industrialized nations that will focus on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The State Department said Blinken will participate in Group of Seven and bilateral meetings outside Rome on Monday and Tuesday as the Biden administration winds down amid concerns that President-elect Donald Trump's team may substantially alter U.S. foreign policy.
The G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — has been at the forefront of providing military and economic support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022, and Democratic President Joe Biden is looking to ensure that backing is boosted and sustained. G7 members are particularly concerned about how Trump will change the U.S. approach.
Trump has criticized the billions of dollars that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine. Washington has recently stepped up weapons shipments ad has forgiven billions in loans provided to Kyiv. The incoming Republican president has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/blinken-heads-g7-meeting-biden-presidency-ukraine-mideast-116160127
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