Blinken, Borrell discuss Afghanistan, China during meet in Washington

Washington [US], October 15 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met in Washington on Thursday and discussed a wide range of issues on countries such as Afghanistan, Russia and China.
"The Secretary and High Representative Borrell discussed developments related to Afghanistan and looked forward to the launch of the US-EU High-Level Dialogue on Russia and the next high-level meeting of the US-EU Dialogue on China, which will occur later this year," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Blinken welcomed the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy and agreed to launch high-level consultations on the Indo-Pacific in late 2021, Price said.
"The Secretary expressed appreciation for the EU's continuing unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans and commitment to the enlargement process, and he emphasized the need to move forward on accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia," the spokesperson added.
He further said that Blinken and Borrell also underscored their strong support for efforts to restore the democratic order in Venezuela.
Furthermore, they discussed their shared concerns regarding higher energy prices and their effect on the global economic recovery, and they agreed to hold a US-EU Energy Council ministerial meeting in early 2022.
"The Secretary reaffirmed the United States' support for a stronger and more capable European defence that contributes positively to transatlantic and global security and is compatible with NATO. He (Blinken) and the High Representative underscored their intention to launch a dedicated dialogue on security and defence, as agreed at the June US-EU Summit, and tasked their teams to explore the scope and modalities of such a dialogue," Price said.