The U.S. Air Force on Monday flew an E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft over eastern Ukraine in a reconnaissance mission amid high tensions with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday thanked leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) nations for their support after they urged Russia to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border.
“And if so there are areas where our interests overlap and we may be able to find ways to work together. But if Russia chooses to continue reckless and aggressive actions, we will respond forcefully as the president s already demonstrated that he would when it comes to election interference or the SolarWinds cyberattack or the attempt to murder Mr. Navalny with a chemical weapon,” Blinken said, referring to jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.
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He added that the meeting is “a beginning of testing” the question of “whether Russia is interested in a more stable and predictable relationship, and finding areas to work together.”
Macron used brief comments to the press to commend Biden’s leadership and said his willingness to cooperate would enable allies to tackle global challenges like the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.
“For all these issues, what we need is cooperation, and I think it’s great to have the U.S. president part of the club and willing to cooperate. And I think that what you demonstrate is that leadership is partnership,” Macron said.
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“The United States, I’ve said before, we’re back, the U.S. is back,” Biden replied. “We feel very, very strongly about the cohesion of NATO and I, for one, think that the European Union is an incredibly strong and vibrant entity that has a lot to do with the ability of western Europe to not only handle its economic issues but provide the backbone and support for NATO.”