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Joe Biden in Brussels
Photo: Stephanie Lecocq / AP
Joe Biden on China and Russia:
"Russia and China want to split us, but our alliance is robust." "NATO is united and the United States is back." Unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, Biden immediately committed to the alliance's commitment to assist.
On Monday he affirmed that this US commitment was "unshakable".
"I'm not looking for a conflict with Russia," the US President continued in Brussels.
"But we will answer if Russia continues its harmful activities." At the same time, he pointed out that the NATO allies would continue to support "the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Ukraine.
Biden with a view to the meeting with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in Geneva:
He will "make it clear to Putin that there are areas in which we can work together if he wants," said the US President.
On the other hand, if he behaves as he has done in the past "with regard to cybersecurity and other activities, (...) we will respond in the same way".
He plans to show the Russian President "red lines".
Angela Merkel on NATO's relationship with China:
"We have to find the right balance," she said after the meeting.
»China is a rival on many issues, but at the same time China is also a partner on many issues (...).
And in this respect one shouldn't overestimate it now either. «In China as in Russia, in addition to deterrence, the willingness to talk is important.
French President Emmanuel Macron on NATO / Europe / China:
Macron warned "that we should not confuse the goals".
NATO is “a military organization.
The content of our relationship with China is not just military. "
Merkel on Afghanistan:
With a view to Afghanistan, the Chancellor spoke out in favor of taking stock of the "successful and the less successful sides of this mission" after the withdrawal of NATO troops.
The mission showed "that it is very, very much more difficult to build a politically stable state than we might have imagined."
jok / AFP
