Bilateral in Washington: Tajani-Blinken harmony, but the Tunisian knot remains

WASHINGTON. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is forced to shorten his visit to Washington due to the disappearance of Silvio Berlusconi, but he does not skip the bilateral meeting with Antony Blinken, which a frenetic work of diplomacy sherpas manages to anticipate in the morning after the visit and the laying a wreath to unknown soldier at Arlington Cemetery.

The face-to-face with the State Department lasted 45 minutes and shows alignment on almost all dossiers. In the press conference a harmony emerges on the road to Ukraine, but the distinctions regarding Tunisia remain, even if nuanced in the tones with which the two speak of it.

The secretary of state said he hoped that the NATO summit in Vilnius in July “can give robust support to Ukraine” with a dual objective: to build defense capacity for the future and above all – in the short term – to feed the counteroffensive and enhance the chances of a negotiating table with Zelensky in a strong position. On the effectiveness of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the secretary of state said it was too early to say where it would lead, but the important thing was to maximize Western efforts. The American line does not differ in the slightest from that on other occasions – not least the speech that Blinken gave ten days ago in Helsinki – namely that peace must be “just and lasting”. Diplomatic actions aimed at seeking an agreement are therefore welcome, but the framework must be that of guaranteeing stability and not a window of time for the Russians to regroup. According to Blinken, Putin has not shown any inclination for dialogue at the moment. So the strategy of supporting Kiev does not change because even if “Putin’s strategy was a failure, Moscow has illegal control of portions of Ukrainian territory”.

Blinken highlighted how in the long term, economic support and the push for reforms could become the vehicle for “Ukrainian accession to the EU”. On the other front, that of entry into NATO, the US is cautious and calibrates its words without overreacting.

The main option is that of “enhanced deterrence”. Tajani relaunched the path of a NATO-Ukraine Council, it would be – the reasoning – «a step towards having Kiev as an operational member of the Alliance». And precisely on NATO there is perfect harmony with regard to Sweden’s accession, “the process has worked so far, everyone, not just the USA, has a say in the matter”. On this Tajani said that in Vilnius work will be done for Sweden’s entry.

The thorniest dossier, at least on the eve and in the preparatory work for the bilateral agreement, concerns Turkey and the 1.9 billion IMF loan to support the economy, conditional on compliance With Tunisia, Tajani said he “wanted an agreement with everyone , where money is put in first, but then without the reforms, no other tranches would arrive ». Blinken underlined that he shared Italy’s concerns, but also stressed that “it is up to Tunis to decide which path to take and whether to decide for IMF funds”. It’s a confirmation of a line a State Department spokesperson shared with The printWe will continue to prioritize the promotion of democratic and constitutional governance capable of promoting the rule of law”.