WASHINGTON: In a show a reinvigorated focus on diplomacy, US President Joe Biden said Thursday the war in Yemen "has to end", pledging to terminate US support for Saudi-led offensive operations and to halt arms sales. "This war has to end," Biden said. “To underscore our commitment, we are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arm sales. We are stepping up diplomacy to end the war in Yemen. The decision reverses former president Donald Trump’s policy of providing logistical assistance and selling huge amounts of advanced weaponry such as precision-guided bombs. Signalling Washington’s new approach to the war, the Biden administration is also appointing a special envoy on Yemen, veteran diplomat Timothy Lenderking, said a person familiar with the matter
“America is back. Diplomacy is back. You are at the center of all that I intend to do,” Biden told a socially distanced auditorium of diplomats ahead of what was billed as his first major foreign policy speech as president. “We’re going rebuild our alliances. We’re going re-engage the world and take on the enormous challenges we face dealing with the pandemic, dealing with global warming and again standing up for democracy and human rights around the world.” He also called for renewed alliance-building and US leadership on the world stage following Trump’s tumultuous four years.
“Over the past two weeks, I’ve spoken with the leaders of many of our closest friends — Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, NATO, Japan, South Korea and Australia — to begin re-forming the habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscles of democratic alliances that have atrophied from four years of neglect and abuse,” Biden said. “America’s alliances are among our greatest assets. And leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies and key partners once more.”
He toughened Washington’s posture toward Moscow. He also warned Vladimir Putin that the US will no longer be “rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions.”
“We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interest and our people,” Biden said in his first major policy speech at the State Department.
“I made it clear to President Putin in a manner very different from my predecessor that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions, interfering in our elections, cyber attacks, poisoning its citizens, are over,” he said. Biden said Navalny should be released immediately without condition. He said the US will confront ‘authoritarianism’ of China, Russia.
Biden will also put on hold plans set in motion by Trump to reduce the US troop presence in Germany, which has been a cornerstone of NATO security since the start of the Cold War. He also announced his intention to massively increase the cap on annual refugee admissions to the United States, which fell to a historical low under Donald Trump.
In line with a campaign promise, Biden said he would set at 125,000 the cap on admissions as part of the country’s refugee resettlement program, against 15,000 for the current fiscal year. Biden called on Myanmar’s military to “relinquish power” in the Southeast Asian nation and release the government officials and activists detained in this week’s coup. “There can be no doubt: in a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election,” Biden said.
“The Burmese military should relinquish power they have seized, release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions in telecommunications, and refrain from violence.” Biden said.