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| Biden said he wasn’t seeking a return to "the rigid blocks of the Cold War", insisting that the international community must work together on issues like the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, even where deep disagreements exist on other issues.(Photo from Bangkok Post/AFP) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] President Joe Biden declared on Friday (Feb 19) that the "transatlantic alliance is back" in a powerful speech seeking to reestablish the United States as leader of the West against what he called a global assault on democracy.
AFP said that the address to the annual Munich Security Conference - held by video link because of the Covid-19 pandemic - dovetailed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's welcoming of a return to "multilateralism" after the confrontational years of Biden's predecessor Donald Trump. Making his first major international address on foreign policy since becoming president in January, Biden said traditional US allies should once again have confidence in Washington's leadership.
"I'm sending a clear message to the world: America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back," he said from the White House. "The United States is determined, determined to re-engage with Europe, to consult with you, and earn back our position of trusted leadership," he said. Biden, who earlier spoke to leaders from the G7 club of wealthy democracies, said his administration was again stressing alliance-building, in contrast to Trump's isolationist policies and abrasive treatment of US partners.
