WASHINGTON DC (VG) Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide met the United States’ Antony Blinken on Friday night. He calls the relationship with Norway one of the “most important and most vital”.
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– It is so good to have you here, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken started his comments in front of the press in the US State Department.
Next to him was Norway’s Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide.
– We have spent a lot of time together in Brussels and NATO, on the phone and had a lot of communication. It is a reflection of the fact that our partnership with Norway is among the most important and vital we have, Blinken said about Søreide.
He especially highlighted Norway’s contribution to Afghanistan.
– We see it in many ways, in many places, but also in recent weeks at the airport in Kabul where Norway led the field hospital that took care of those who were wounded in the terrorist attack. It is something we will never forget, Blinken said.
–– Dangerous, chaotic
Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide flew over to Washington DC on Thursday to meet her American counterpart, Antony Blinken.
The two meet under a boiling foreign policy climate, where the situation in Afghanistan and the way forward is the most important topic.
– The meeting was with Blinken was as they usually are, good and substantial. We went through a large number of topics, says Søreide after the meeting outside the US State Department.
– How did you describe in the meeting how the American withdrawal from Afghanistan took place?
– It was a dangerous, confusing and chaotic situation that made it dangerous to get Norwegian citizens and Afghans out who needed protection, Søreide answers.
–– Opened an opportunity
Norway was among the last nations to stand side by side with the Americans at the airport in Kabul, and treated a number of wounded after IS terrorist attack in Khorasan (IS-K) on the Norwegian field hospital 27. august.
Norway’s new position in the Biden administration also reflected in the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris called Erna Solberg on Friday afternoon to special thanks for the efforts of the Norwegian field hospital.
– Has this made Norway a favorite in this administration?
– I experience that the cooperation we have had for 20 years in Afghanistan has made us close partners there. Then it is clear that it was a special situation in the final phase because we had the field hospital. The field hospital was an important security for us, but also to carry out the evacuation in the final phase, Søreide answers.
– Was the field hospital’s efforts a week ago decisive for you being here now?
– We have tried to make this meeting very long, but the Americans have had a very strict infection control regime and few visits in and generally few visits out. That an opportunity now opened up was very positive, because we had a lot to discuss in addition to Afghanistan, Søreide answers.
–– Maintain progress
The West, the United States and Norway, which have direct diplomatic contact with the Taliban, is now facing demanding path choices.
The Taliban has seized power. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is very vulnerable. Rights for women in the country gained over the last 20 years are in danger of being lost. A refugee crisis is brewing.
At the same time, the suicide attack in Kabul on August 27 showed the whole world that Afghanistan will remain a security policy challenge – and can once again become a free port for terrorists.
– Is it not in the West’s clear interest to ensure that the Taliban manages to govern as best as possible now?
“I think everyone has an interest in Afghanistan not collapsing completely, but there is also an interest in preserving the progress that has actually been made, especially on rights and that girls can go to school,” Søreide replied in an interview at the Norwegian Embassy in Washington. DC a few hours before the meeting with Blinken.
–The priorities
Through international recognition and assistance, there are opportunities to influence the Taliban, according to the Foreign Minister.
VG asks Søreide if she fears that the “softer” priorities, which apply to human rights, may break because they are at the same time dependent on security policy cooperation with the Taliban to fight IS-K.
– It is too early to say how it will play out, those conversations have not started yet. But there will not be much good influence if each country is to have its own strategy, Søreide answers.
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