“The United States must rebuild its alliances”

We’re back ”, we are back, Joe Biden proclaimed to the world after being sworn in as president. It is a message for the allies, who saw the US walk away with Trump, but also for Chinese and Russians, who found the unilateralism of the former president very convenient.

“ We’re back it means that we recognize that we have an important leadership role and we want to exercise it with commitment ”, states the United States Chargé d’Affaires in Spain, Conrad Tribble, in an interview this week in Barcelona, ​​in which he reviews the main challenges he faces the new Administration.

Trump’s recognition

“There is and must continue the political negotiations on Western Sahara”

After the allegations of electoral fraud, the assault on the Capitol, will it not now be more difficult for Washington to teach democracy lessons to other countries?

We do not want to give lessons but to be a good example of an open and democratic society. What gives me confidence is how we are processing what happened. The institutions have worked. The attack on the Capitol was a horror, but a few hours later Congress reconvened and did its job. The transition has worked and we are in a new stage. We recognize that our alliances have been damaged, not just in recent months but years, and we are working hard to rebuild them. That is why Secretary Blinken has traveled to Asia or Brussels. We must rebuild the transatlantic relationship. They are the best allies we have to face all the challenges we share, such as climate change, China, Russia or the economic recovery from the covid.

Trump’s sour tone with NATO has softened under Biden. But the tension points are still there, like the Nordstream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany. Will they resort to sanctions?

The strength of the Alliance is that we can have disagreements and resolve them with dialogue. We believe that the gas pipeline is a threat to the energy security of Europe and to the security of Ukraine and Eastern Europe. It is not a US-Europe disagreement, other allies share our concern. We have a close relationship with Germany and there will be an open dialogue, but if we have laws under which we should impose sanctions, they will have to be applied.

The Trump presidency was one of high tension with China, but Blinken just called it the first military and non-military threat from the US Is it an adversary?

We see China as the main challenge in the coming years, but also a country with which we have to cooperate. In some spheres the dynamic is one of cooperation, in others of competition –economic or influence–, and in others it is an adversary, such as the abuse of human rights or their military activities. It is a complex relationship, it cannot be reduced to one word, we believe that we must work with our allies in the region (Australia, South Korea or Japan), because together we will be in a better position to face the Chinese challenge than if we try to do it alone . It is this approach that sets this Administration apart. We are interested in maintaining an economic relationship, but we are concerned about subsidized entities, the theft of intellectual property or the abuse of WTO rules. Europe and the US add up to half of global GDP. We must come together to find solutions. Also in the face of the abuses in Xinjiang, Hong Kong or the pressure on Taiwan, the countries with the same values ​​must send a clear and strong message.

Blinken has lashed out at the WHO report that investigated the origin of the virus in Wuhan. Is it an indicator that the US will remain belligerent?

The priority is to end the pandemic, make sure there are vaccines for everyone, get the economy back, and be able to get back to some kind of normalcy. But when we have the pandemic under control, it will also be important to understand what happened, in order to prevent others, and that requires a level of transparency from all countries, which we have not yet seen from China.

Biden has made a strong start with Russia, calling Putin a murderer. Four years of direct clash with the Kremlin await us?

We are very clear that the relationship will not be easy. The problem is the behavior of Russia. His aggressions in the region. The threats to Ukraine, the mobilization of troops on the border is just a recent sample. Cyberattacks. Interference in elections, ours and others … We are in Catalonia. The rewards in Afghanistan for killing our soldiers. They are a series of activities that go further than the last four years. We will try to cooperate with Russia where we can, such as the resumption of the Start treaty or climate change. But we are faced with a country that seeks problems, that seeks to destabilize its region.

Does the aggressive tone of Putin or the Chinese in Anchorage indicate that the international vacuum left by Trump has emboldened them?

This government, which I represent, is trying to be very clear with Russia and China. We do not seek confrontations but rather appropriate behavior for international coexistence. Anchorage was an opportunity to tell the Chinese our position directly. The meeting lasted hours. They were concrete and substantial discussions. The president also had a long discussion with Russia in which he was able to say what the problems are, not only ours but also those of allies.

One of Trump’s last decisions was to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. What will Biden do?

I can’t say much. Blinken spoke with the UN Secretary General last week and they broached this issue. We underline the importance of political negotiations and of appointing a special envoy. All I can say is that we are looking towards the UN.

If the US recognizes Moroccan sovereignty, it bypasses the UN.

There are, and must continue, political negotiations and that is what we are working on.

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