UPDATE - Blinken To Visit Germany, France, Italy, Vatican June 22-29 - State Department

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2021) US State Secretary Antony Blinken will start a European tour to visit Germany, France, Italy and Vatican next week, State Department spokesperson Ned price said in a statement on Friday.

"Blinken will travel to Berlin, Paris, Rome, the Vatican, Bari, and Matera, June 22-29," Price said.

In all capitals, Blinken will meet local top officials to discuss bilateral and international issues.

"In Berlin, the Secretary will attend the Second Berlin Conference on Libya to support national elections in December and the withdrawal of foreign forces," the statement read, adding that he will have separate discussions with Libyan and other foreign officials on the margins of the forum.

Blinken also will be meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to highlight the importance of bilateral relations, as well as combating anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

In Paris on June 25, Blinken will meet with President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, as well as Mathias Cormann, the� Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

In Rome, Blinken will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (banned in Russia) with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. He also plans to participate in a Syria Ministerial to discuss the crisis in in the country.

"On the margins of the D-ISIS meeting, the Secretary will participate in a Syria Ministerial to discuss the crisis in Syria and underscore the importance of meeting humanitarian needs," the statement said.

The US Secretary of State also will meet with senior Holy See officials in Vatican to discuss freedom of religion or belief and tackling the climate crisis, the statement said.

He will end his tour in the Italian cities of Bari and Matera at a G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in preparation for the G20 summit that will take place in the Rome in October.