US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday expressed the opinion that the post-Cold War period ended with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and claimed the role of the US leader in the world in the coming period, but to use it with “modesty” to win the “trust” of other countries, reports EFE agency quoted by Agerpres.

In a debate at Johns Hopkins University, the head of US diplomacy said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the “biggest threat to the international order” after the years of “geopolitical stability” that followed the end of the Cold War.

He also blamed China as the “biggest long-term problem” because it had created “economic, diplomatic, military and technological power” aimed at changing the international order towards a “more authoritarian world”.

“We are at a turning point: one era has ended, another is beginning. The decisions we make now will determine the future for decades,” said Blinken.

He argued that the United States is performing its leadership role in this period “modestly” because Washington needs to gain the “trust” of other countries. “We recognize that leadership begins with listening and understanding the problems of others in order to be able to find a common language,” said the head of American diplomacy.

Washington “is determined to cooperate with any country”

He advocated a “variable geometry” diplomacy that would seek precise alliances to solve specific problems, rather than creating large ideological blocs.

Although democratic countries are a priority for the administration of US President Joe Biden, Washington is “determined to cooperate with any country, including those with which it has differences on important issues, but on the condition that they want to solve common problems”, e.g. as climate change, lack of food security or crises caused by migration, the US Secretary of State described in detail.

He called the strengthening of NATO and relations with the EU, India, African countries, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the goals of the US.

Blinken also claimed that now the USA “has a much stronger position in the world than two and a half years ago”, when Donald Trump was in the White House. He also stated that he is “convinced” that when historians look back on this era, they will say that the United States acted “decisively, strategically and modestly” to “lay the foundations for a freer and more prosperous world.”

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