Ulaanbaatar. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene in Ulaanbaatar. Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene discussed concrete steps to improve and expand economic ties and people-to-people connections between the United States and Mongolia.
With large parts of the world in turmoil and deep uncertainty over the future direction of America’s global role, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought this week to project an aura of calm normalcy as he traveled through Asia on his first overseas mission since President Joe Biden jolted the 2024 presidential race with his withdrawal.
Whether he succeeded or not remains an open question. On a trip to Laos, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia that was punctuated by several potential escalatory developments in the Middle East, an uptick in Russian attacks in Ukraine and overshadowed by persistent fears about China’s increasingly aggressive actions, he could not escape questions and comments about domestic U.S. politics.(AP)
