Tribble began his speech with a message: «The United States is back. The transatlantic alliance is back,» highlighting the new government’s focus on its alliances. He also mentioned that the U.S. now aims to rebuild the alliances that were damaged over the past four years in order to jointly address global challenges: «There are countless challenges, and these problems cannot be faced by a country alone.» These factors must also include priorities such as combating COVID-19, strengthening global health security, and addressing climate change, with rejoining the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, it is important to establish coordination with the European Union and other European countries to address strategic challenges with countries like China. According to Tribble, China presents «the most important geopolitical challenge of the twenty-first century for democratic societies and for our shared interests—whether economic, political, or security-related.» Despite this, opportunities should be sought to collaborate with China within a common framework of rules and a level playing field. China must be an important ally on issues such as combating climate change.

Another topic discussed during this session was the U.S.-Spain bilateral relationship. The United States is eager to actively work with Spain on the key global political challenges and strengthen this bilateral relationship. «Spain can play an even more important role in key countries in Latin America, such as Venezuela or Cuba, in the development of Central American countries, and in the Sahel region. For this reason, Spain is a highly important ally for us,» stated Tribble.

During the debate, participants raised questions regarding possible changes in the military aspect of the U.S.-Spain relationship. In this regard, Tribble mentioned that «there will not be much change, but if there is, it will always be for the better.» The track record of military cooperation between the two countries has been very positive, as demonstrated in missions in the Sahel, Iraq, or Afghanistan. Other issues raised during the debate included the U.S.-China bilateral meeting at the Anchorage (Alaska) summit. Regarding the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal, Tribble stated that «we are willing to return to an agreement process with Iran if the country returns to fulfilling its obligations under the agreement, and that is a message we have discussed with the other signatories.»

Finally, Conrad Tribble detailed the objectives of the «Summit for Democracy» that the Biden administration plans to hold soon. He mentioned that the spirit of this conference is to bring together world leaders to «revitalize and strengthen the model we have, which we want to preserve and improve.»

Javier Ubrí
Communication Assistant, INCIPE