Antony Blinken

We are, as a general rule, much better off being at the table than being outside the room.

I think we would benefit from the same in the economic realm.

American leadership still matters. The reality is the world simply does not organize itself.

I think we are going to seek an extension.

My strong commitment to you and to this committee is that we will engage in genuine consultations.

It has to be and if I have anything to say about it, it will be a nonpartisan institution that is seeking only to advance the national interest.

There is tremendous benefit in the effectiveness of pushing back on China when we are doing this with other similarly-aggrieved countries.

I agree, and we need a humane, a fair, and an orderly system. That is imperative.

we have to increase enforcement so that China and Russia abide by the sanctions meant to target the regime.

The idea that a strategic--so-called strategic partner of ours would actually be in line with one of our biggest strategic competitors in Russia is not acceptable.

I think our approach has been, shall I say, lacking in the sense that we have engaged in what I would characterize as defensive measures.

The world is on fire. Rebuilding alliances, restoring American leadership at international institutions, tackling problems that define our times and defy borders like climate change, migration, and COVID-19.

It is inconceivable to think of Syria being stable with Assad as its leader. He has forfeited his legitimacy.

I will appoint very, very soon a chief diversity officer

This cannot go on unanswered.

It is, truly, the honor of a lifetime to appear before this committee as President-elect Biden's nominee to be secretary of state.

we have to have a retention process

So we have a national interest in helping and in doing our part to make sure that as the vaccine becomes available we help get it out there as quickly and as effectively as we can.

The president-elect has been very clear that there need to be costs and sustained consequences for some of these actions.

Most of the challenges we face simply cannot be addressed effectively by any one country acting alone.

I think we have seen, again, in the past that countries that have joined NATO have not been the same target of Russian aggression.

I would like to see them, Taiwan, even more engaged in the world.

I think there are very case-specific hard issues that we have to look at when it comes to individuals and individual leaders.

We can only tackle the most urgent challenges we have if we work together, and I am dedicated to doing just that.

Turkey continues to be destabilizing by supporting Azerbaijan's aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh.