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Blinken heads to Europe for Ukraine talks
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken set out Tuesday for a multi-country trip of which the first stop will be Brussels, where he is expected
to provide reassurance to European allies on U.S. support for Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's second term.
According to a statement from the State Department, Blinken will be in Brussels, where the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union are headquartered, "for meetings with his NATO and European Union counterparts to discuss support for Ukraine in its defense against" Russia.
The trip comes in the waning days of Blinken being the secretary of state, and as Trump had reportedly chosen Florida Senator Marco Rubio as the country's top diplomat. Among Rubio's tasks as the next secretary of state will be fulfilling Trump's promise of a quick resolution to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump has vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours after assuming office, but how he is going to achieve that remains to be seen.
The president-elect reportedly held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday -- shortly after he won the presidential election -- during which he allegedly told the Russian leader not to escalate the situation in Ukraine. The Kremlin denied the existence of such a call entirely.
After concluding the trip to Belgium, Blinken will be headed to Peru and Brazil, where he will join President Joe Biden at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Meeting and the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit, respectively.
