Check against delivery!  

Thank you. Thank you very much my dear friend, Secretary of State [of the United States, Antony Blinken], for receiving me and my delegation.  

I very much appreciate our regular dialogue between the United States and the European Union. Especially in these extraordinarily difficult times. The world is becoming darker and darker. That is what I told the United Nations Security Council yesterday. The developments around us make our security inseparable and only prove the need for the United States and European Union to work together.  

We are facing an aggressive Russia, who will not stop. An assertive China, who will become more and more assertive. Military takeovers in the Sahel. I know that you have a delegation in Niger today. Criminal gangs challenging the authorities in Haiti – once again, you are playing an important role in this part of the world. And Central and South America in big trouble.

Ukraine is our biggest and immediate worry for us Europeans, and for you too. For our common security. The Russian aggressor will not stop. We have to stop it. 

You are doing a lot. We are doing a lot. Both [of us], I think, we can do still more in order to support Ukrainians in this very challenging time. 

And then, this very worrisome thing that is happening in Gaza. Thank you very much for your efforts in order to try to diminish the humanitarian suffering of the people in Gaza.  

We deplore the current situation, but we have to do more than just deplore [it] - on which we both agree. I think that we need to act. The very survival of the population in Gaza is at stake today. And once again, thank you for your personal efforts.  

Then, we need to clear the humanitarian access. Through sea, by air, that is good - [but] that is not enough. You cannot replace hundreds of trucks by sending parachutes. The most important thing is to open the borders by land and continue working – or start working – on the two-state solution that both of us, United States and European Union, endorse.  

It is the only way for a lasting peace. I hope that we can join our efforts in order to make that a reality. 

Thank you very much, Secretary of State.  

Link to video (starting from 00:57): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-254357