The US chief diplomat stands on a stage in Kiev with a black shirt and a red guitar. Antony Blinken is visiting Ukraine for the fourth time since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression – and surprises with an unexpected appearance.
The US Secretary of State has chosen truly appropriate lines for his message to Ukraine – and everyone else: “We’ll have to keep on rockin’ in the free world”. A song Neil Young released in 1989 shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. An interesting choice after a long day in Kiev.
On Tuesday morning, Antony Blinken arrived in the Ukrainian capital by night train. He met President Volodymyr Zelensky and renewed his promise: new US military aid worth $61 billion was “on the way” after delays by right-wing Republicans. He then met his counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, with whom he had pizza in a pizzeria opened by a war veteran. In the evening there was room for the semi-private passion of Joe Biden’s chief diplomat: music and guitar riffs.
Attention on social media
A live band performed in the jazz and cocktail bar “Barman Dictat”. After a few songs, the frontman called Blinken onto the stage. At that point he had ditched his typical black suit and tie and instead wore jeans and a black shirt. Then he slung a red Gibson guitar around his neck.
“Your soldiers, your citizens – especially in the northeast, in Kharkiv – are suffering enormously,” Blinken said, addressing the Ukrainians on the small stage. “But you must know that the United States is with you, much of the world is with you, and that you are fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you too.”
While Blinken’s previous speeches that day drew little attention, a video of that appearance is making waves on social media. Some are calling the Secretary of State’s appearance inappropriate or calling it a waste of American tax dollars: “Just a quick reminder that you and your families can’t afford rent, gas and groceries because inflation is out of control and your tax dollars are responsible for that that Secretary of State Tony Blinken is playing guitar in a bar in Ukraine,” writes a user on X, formerly Twitter.
Others defend the appearance: “Guys, I don’t understand the criticism against Blinken. Do you think he came to Ukraine to play guitar? Or did you expect him to be at the head of a 40-mile convoy of Himars throwers (a multiple rocket system, editor’s note) is coming? That’s not how it works.”
Antony Blinken taught himself to play guitar
The Foreign Minister is a passionate musician. He told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview in 2021 that he was a fan of the Beatles and Eric Clapton and owned “six or seven” guitars. Self-deprecatingly, he went on to say that he was “left-handed, but somehow I’m not Jimi Hendrix.” But that hasn’t stopped him from performing in the past. At one he performed “Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters.
Ukraine is dependent on weapons – but also on ensuring that the war is not forgotten. Blinken’s appearance may have briefly contributed to this and at the same time brought attention to a core message of Joe Biden’s election campaign: Western democracies should defend themselves against authoritarian forces. Neil Young had already banned former US President Donald Trump from performing “Rockin’ in the Free World” during the 2020 election campaign.
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
