Secretary of State Antony Blinken bids farewell to diplomats and staff at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-01-17T18:00:20Z WASHINGTON (AP) Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken told The Associated Press that he hopes the incoming Trump administration will press forward with key points in President Joe Bidens foreign policy, including on the Middle East and Ukraine.But in an wide-ranging interview Friday on his last workday as Americas top diplomat, he expressed concern that the Trump team might abandon all or some of those policies.Blinken said there is reason to be concerned that the new administration might not follow through on initiatives that Bidens national security team put into place to end the war in Gaza, keep Ukraine free of Russian interference and maintain strengthened alliances with key partners.When we came in, we inherited partnerships and alliances that were seriously frayed, he said. So if past is prologue, yes, it would be a concern. I dont know, cant know, how they approach things, he said. I do think that there is, there could and I believe should, be some real continuity in a couple of places. AP AUDIO: Blinken tells AP hes worried Trump administration may abandon key Biden foreign policy initiatives In an AP interview, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he worries the Trump administration will abandon key Biden foreign policies in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere. President-elect Donald Trump has been skeptical of U.S. alliances, including NATO and defense partnerships in the Asia-Pacific, all of which the Biden team has worked to shore up over the past four years. Trump has also been critical of U.S. military aid to Ukraine and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. But Trumps incoming Middle East envoy has been deeply involved in helping the Biden administration broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas this week. Both incoming and outgoing presidents claimed credit for the breakthrough. The best laid plans: Theres, of course, no guarantee that our successors will look to them, rely on them, Blinken said. But at least theres that option. At least they can decide whether this is a good basis for proceeding and make changes.Efforts to reach the Trumps transition team for comment were not immediately successful. Blinken and the Biden administration overall have been heavily criticized for their handling of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and, more recently, for their support for Israel in its war against Hamas. Critics accuse them of not imposing meaningful restrictions on weapons shipments to Israel or pushing its ally hard enough to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.On Thursday, protests accusing Blinken of complicity in Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians interrupted his final appearance in the State Department press briefing room, and demonstrators have routinely gathered outside his home.Blinken lamented that the Biden administration has been diverted from its central foreign policy priorities by world developments, including the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russias invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza crisis, all of which took time and energy away from pursuing core objectives, notably in the Indo-Pacific.These are not what we came in wanting or expecting to have to be focused on, he said.That said, he stressed that even as the administration dealt with those crises, it had still been determined to look at the rest of world, and had succeeded, in his estimation, at rebuilding frayed alliances and partnerships around the world. Rest of world: cant lose sight of it, he said. Got to keep the focus on in the places where it really matters for Americas security and for Americas future.The interview, conducted in Blinkens office on the seventh floor of the State Department, followed his farewell remarks to the agencys staffers. He urged career personnel to carry on in their mission amid uncertainty about how the incoming administration will handle relationships and rivalries abroad or treat career American diplomats.In that address to employees, Blinken paid tribute to their work over the past four years despite multiple challenges, ranging from Afghanistan and Ukraine to the Middle East.Without you in the picture, this world, our country would look so much different, Blinken told a cheering crowd of several hundred staffers gathered at the departments main Washington entrance, decorated with the flags of all countries with which the U.S. has diplomatic relations. With you in the picture, both are so much better, he said. Youre working every day to make things just a little bit better, a little bit more peaceful, a little bit more full of hope, of opportunity. Thats your mission, and you do it so well.Trump has been publicly skeptical of the State Department and its traditional role in crafting administration foreign policy.Trump once referred to the agency as the Deep State Department, and he and his associates have made no secret of their desire to purge career officials who do not show sufficient loyalty to the president. His choice to be Blinkens successor, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, has said he respects the foreign service, but he has not yet detailed any plans for how the department will be managed. Blinken called for staffers to remain resilient.This is a time of transition, and when we talk about transition, sometimes we talk about passing the baton. Thats what Ill be doing, he said. But thats not what most of you will be doing. Most of you come Monday, you will keep running, and what gives me more confidence than anything else is to know that thats exactly what youll do.