US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrapped up his trip to Europe on Friday following the end of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, which focused on issues related to China, Russia and Afghanistan.
The main issues discussed at the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels were past conflicts, current ones, lessons learned in Afghanistan, Russia that broke off diplomatic relations with NATO this week amid aggression on the east side. of the alliance, and growing concerns about a possible war between China and Taiwan.
“No one, including President Biden, wants the issues between China and Taiwan to erupt, and there is no reason for that to happen.” tha Sekretari Austin.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters in Brussels on Friday that the United States remains committed to efforts to strengthen Taiwan’s military defense capabilities.
He also reaffirmed America’s support for the sovereignty of American allies fighting Russian aggression.
Ahead of the NATO summit, Mr. Austin visited Romania this week, a NATO ally on the Black Sea border, as well as Georgia and Ukraine, two partners partially occupied by Russian forces and those backed by Russia.
Max Bergmann of the Center for American Progress in Washington says Secretary Austin’s bans are a sign that relations with Russia are not expected to warm up.
“I think President Biden’s administration, perhaps at first, was not very clear and caused some concern among some people in Eastern Europe that it was not very focused on issues related to Russia and Eastern European concerns,” he said. “This visit has now removed these concerns.” he says.
This was the first meeting of NATO defense ministers since the chaotic withdrawal of coalition troops from Afghanistan, which was accompanied by much criticism. Analyst Max Bergmann says this was a “dark period” for the NATO alliance.
“I think Afghanistan has definitely been a contentious issue for the alliance,” he said. “The Europeans thought they had not been adequately consulted and they thought that this was in a way a unilateral decision by President Biden to step down.” he says.
Afghanistan war veteran Bradley Bowman, who now works at the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, says the issue has opened the door to criticism from the United States that it is not a stable and credible partner.
“There is no doubt that America’s reputation, as a result of President Biden’s administration’s appalling decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, has been tarnished, in Europe and around the world.” yes ai.
The Taliban are back in power. Some progress made through intense warfare was eroded. And now there are reports that hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghans who were partners of the United States were left behind.
Secretary Austin said the United States has a “moral responsibility” to help those who have supported America.
“We are not finished, we will continue our work. “We will work as hard as we can to help as many people as possible.” yes ai.
The United States’ ability to evacuate people from Afghanistan has been limited following the withdrawal of US troops. The U.S. military has helped evacuate more than 100,000 people from the war-torn country in the last two weeks of August.FLY
To be part of the group »AOL“just click: Join Group and your request will be approved immediately.
Outney
.
