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Pompeo Blasts Russia, China in Berlin Speech

Nike Ching

   Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States said
   Washington and its allies are still confronting formidable adversaries,
   and the free world needs to continue to defend against threats from
   Russia and China.

   In a speech near Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, Secretary of State
   Mike Pompeo said on Friday that Russia "invades its neighbors and slays
   political opponents," adding Russian authorities "use police raids and
   torture against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians who are working in
   opposition to Russian aggression."

   The top U.S. diplomat also took aim at Beijing.

   "In China, the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] is shaping a new vision of
   authoritarianism," Pompeo told an audience at the Körber-Stiftung
   Foundation, accusing the CCP of using tactics to suppress Chinese
   people, denying travel privileges to critics, and harassing the
   families of Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang who sought refuge abroad.

   In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry criticized Pompeo over earlier remarks
   regarding the Communist Party.

   "Pompeo attacked the Chinese political system, rendering the so-called
   Chinese threats filled with ideological prejudice and the zero-sum game
   thinking of the Cold War. The Chinese government is expressing strong
   dissatisfaction and resolute opposition," said spokesperson Geng
   Shuang.

   Later Friday, during a meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and
   Pompeo underscored what the two NATO allies can accomplish by working
   together.

   "Today we have other challenges ahead of us, but we remain allies and
   partners who are dedicating themselves to the problems in the world,"
   said Merkel, citing conflicts in Afghanistan and Syria, as well as the
   conflicts between Russia and Ukraine. "Germany wants to play an active
   role in solving these problems."

   Pompeo praised remarks by Germany Defense Minister Annegret
   Kramp-Karrenbauer about increasing the country's military spending and
   contribution to NATO over time.

   "We think that is powerful," said the top U.S. diplomat.

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