Blinken and U.S. Allies Struggle with Wars as Bidens Presidency Wanes

The array of issues that top diplomats from the United States and allied nations tried to tackle in Rome over two days this week was dizzying: embattled Ukraine, multiple Middle East conflicts, the Sudan civil war and other hostilities in Africa, instability in Haiti and Venezuela, and tensions arising from military actions by China and North Korea.

The officials held discussions over meals and in conference rooms in the Italian towns of Fiuggi and Anagni, south of Rome. Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, was there to represent the Biden administration at the end of President Biden’s term, as the world waited for the start of the second presidency of Donald J. Trump and a new era in diplomacy.

What became clear over the two days of the Group of 7 diplomatic meeting was the sheer difficulty the allied nations faced in trying to resolve the increasingly intertwined global issues, as well as the chasms that are widening between some of the allies.

One source of friction is the wars in the Middle East, as the Israeli military continues to pummel Gaza and as Israel and Hezbollah, the military and political group in Lebanon, warily advance toward a cease-fire deal.

At a news conference in Fiuggi on Tuesday evening, at the end of the sessions, Mr. Blinken underscored the violence by Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza when asked about the Middle East. He also spoke of the role of the United States in promoting a potential cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

“We’ve been focused on trying to see that this cease-fire agreement gets over the line and gets implemented,” he said.

Mr. Blinken and other American officials denounced the announcement last week by the International Criminal Court that it was issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister, to stand trial on charges of forced starvation of Palestinians and other war crimes. The United States and Israel are not members of the court, and their governments have said the court has no jurisdiction over Israel.

Some officials among the allied nations have said that they support the court’s action and that their nations would arrest Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant if either set foot in their territories.

Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s top representative for foreign affairs, is urging E.U. countries, which are all members of the international court, to help enforce its decision.

“We the European people will say, I hope, that we will fulfill all our obligations under international law,” Mr. Borrell said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Referring to an earlier arrest warrant that the court issued against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he added, “You cannot applaud when the court goes against Putin and remain silent when the court goes against Netanyahu.”

Among the G7 nations, Canada has said it would arrest the two Israeli men, while Germany and Italy have taken more ambiguous stances. Antonio Tajani, the Italian foreign minister, said at a news conference on Tuesday that it was doubtful whether officials holding the highest posts in a country are protected by immunity and whether warrants could apply to nations that are not members of the court.

The diplomats decided to include language on Israel in the Group of 7 communiqué that did not directly mention the court’s actions.

“In exercising its right to defend itself, Israel must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law,” it said. “We reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will comply with our respective obligations. We underline that there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the state of Israel.”

On the issue of Ukraine and Russia, the diplomats used clearer language, saying, “Our support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence will remain unwavering.”

The communiqué also denounced China’s efforts to help Russia rebuild its defense industry and North Korea’s military aid to Russia.

Yet, the officials also know that Mr. Trump has a different view on military aid to Ukraine from Mr. Biden — the U.S. president-elect has threatened to cut off aid, and he could do so to try to force Ukraine to the negotiating table with Russia.

At the news conference, Mr. Blinken acknowledged that Ukraine might end up entering into talks with Russia sometime soon, saying, “What we’re determined to do in the remainder of this administration is to do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to be able to, as I said, to fight through 2025 if necessary or, if there’s a negotiation, to be able to negotiate from a position of strength.”

Mr. Blinken began his official itinerary in Italy with meetings on Monday at the headquarters of the United Nations World Food Program in Rome, the first visit there by a U.S. secretary of state. He was accompanied by Jeffrey Prescott, the American ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

The World Food Program is grappling with broad challenges that bedevil the allied nations and many other countries — hunger across large swaths of the globe exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a major grain exporter; and the wartime conditions in Gaza and Sudan that have set the stage for famine.

“On the one hand, conflict is a driver of food insecurity and the suffering that follows, but food insecurity can also be a driver of conflict,” Mr. Blinken said. “And no one is doing more than the World Food Program to try to cut that knot and to address the urgent needs of so many people around the world, but in so doing also help alleviate or prevent conflict.”