Blinken to Visit Qatar, Germany for Afghanistan Diplomacy
Voice of America
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Qatar on a trip that will also take him to Germany for talks with important U.S. allies on the situation in Afghanistan.
“Departing for Doha, Qatar and Ramstein, Germany where I’ll have the opportunity to thank our Qatari and German friends in-person for the outstanding support they’ve given to safely transit U.S. citizens, Afghans, and other evacuees from Afghanistan,” Blinken tweeted late Sunday. Qatar was a key hub for the massive U.S. airlift out of Kabul and a first point of landing for thousands of Afghan refugees following last month’s Taliban takeover. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is also visiting U.S. allies in the Middle East to thank them for their help in the evacuations from Afghanistan, and with U.S. troops. His stops include Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.FILE - U.S. troops are seen at Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte province, as U.S. and Philippine troops participate in a joint military exercise in the Philippines on May 6, 2024. U.S. and Filipino troops concluded a new combat exercise in the Philippines on June 10, 2024. FILE - A Philippine soldier fires a Javelin anti-tank weapon system during a live exercise as part of the annual U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises called "Balikatan" at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija province, April 13, 2023.
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visit the memorial center during the 80th anniversary of the massacre of 643 persons by Nazi German forces, in Oradour-sur-Glane, France, on June 10, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron (2ndL), the Mayor of Oradour-sur-Glane (L), and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2ndR) walk along a street in Oradour-sur-Glane, June 10, 2024. French President Macron (L) and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stand together as they pay their respects during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre, June 10, 2024.
Swiss President Viola Amherd, center, speaks during a press conference ahead of the Ukraine peace conference being organized by Switzerland, in Bern on June 10, 2024. Ukrainian flags flutter over hundreds graves of Ukrainian servicemen killed in fighting since the Russian invasion, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 6, 2024.