Blinken pledges to ‘revitalise’ NATO, cooperation on Afghanistan

On US secretary of state’s first visit to NATO headquarters, he will also warn Germany about Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged to rebuild and revitalise the transatlantic NATO military alliance and to share Washington’s “initial thinking” on any possible withdrawal from Afghanistan during his first visit to the alliance’s headquarters. Blinken, speaking in Brussels on Tuesday at the start of two days of meetings with his European counterparts, added that he planned to warn Germany over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany, which he said ran counter to the EU’s own interests and could undermine Ukraine. Accompanied at a brief news conference by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Blinken said NATO was at a pivotal moment in facing threats around the world.