United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken as he disembarks from his airplane upon arrival at Keflavik Air Base in Iceland, May 17, 2021, his second stop on a 5-day European tour. REYKJAVIK, Iceland: Top diplomats from the United States and Russia are set to square off this week in Iceland for their first face-to-face encounter that comes as ties between the nations have deteriorated sharply in recent months.
"It would be our preference to have a more stable and more predictable relationship with Russia,” Blinken said on Tuesday. “At the same time, we’ve been very clear that if Russia chooses to take reckless or aggressive actions that target our interests or those of our allies and partners, we’ll respond. Not for purposes of seeking conflict or escalating but because such challenges cannot be allowed to go forward with impunity.
Blinken said his meeting with Lavrov would be an important opportunity to test the proposition that the US and Russia can work collaboratively on certain issues, like climate change, the Mideast, Iran and North Korea, despite bitter disagreements on others. The meeting comes as much of the world is focused on the Israel-Palestinian war.
Blinken rejected Russian calls to resume a military component of the Arctic Council and expressed concerns about Russia’s increasing military activity in the region known as the “high North".
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