Macron, Blinken discuss efforts to end Ukraine war
World
French President and US Secretary of State agreed in talks Tuesday to keep pressuring Vladimir Putin
PARIS (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed in talks Tuesday to keep pressuring Vladimir Putin in hopes of bringing and end to the Ukraine war, the State Department said.
The two met in Paris and "reaffirmed their commitment to impose significant costs on President Putin and his associates for as long as they continue their war of choice in Ukraine," State Department Spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
"The secretary and president compared notes on ongoing diplomacy to diminish the violence and bring the Kremlin s war to a halt, Price said.
"They also agreed to continue close coordination on Iran and efforts to reach a deal in Vienna ensuring mutual return to full compliance with the JCPOA," he said, referring to the 2015 deal on limiting Iran s ability to develop nuclear weapons.
Blinken flew in to Paris late Tuesday after stops in seven other European countries -- including stepping into Ukraine to meet its foreign minister -- aimed at strengthening unity over Russia s invasion of Ukraine and assuring allies of Washington s support.
Earlier Tuesday he said in Tallinn, Estonia that the United States was bolstering support for the three Baltic members of NATO who have been unnerved by Moscow s aggression against Ukraine.
"The people of Estonia -- who lived through decades of Soviet occupation -- understand in a profound way how wrong Russia s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine is. How the world has to defend Ukraine s right to exist as a sovereign, democratic country free to choose its own future," Blinken said in a press conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
"We will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power," he said.
