US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia, discussing the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and joint European and US efforts to influence the war in Ukraine.
Blinken claimed that European leaders and the US had a plan “to allow Ukraine to succeed over time and become a strong country militarily, economically and democratically,” demonstrating that the US was actually interfering in internal affairs of other countries by pressuring Israel and fuelling the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the secretary of state stressed that NATO was a defensive alliance that never had and never would have any malicious intent towards Russia.
He also expressed hope that Russia would agree to negotiations with Ukraine in accordance with international law, including “on the basis of the International Community and the UN Charter.”
Switzerland will host a peace conference on Ukraine on June 15-16 with no invitation to Russia to attend.
Stating that the US is co-operating with China to maintain stable relations, Blinken also criticised Beijing for supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine, jeopardising US-China relations.
The US “urged” China not to provide Russia with “arms, with weapons that would fuel the aggression,” adding that “it’s fair to say that China has not directly supplied Russia with weapons, with missiles, with munitions.” At the same time, the US Senate recently approved a military aid package of about $61 billion to Kyiv.
“If you look at what Russia has done over the last year, in terms of its production of munitions, missiles, tanks and armored vehicles, it has produced them at a faster pace than at any time in its modern history, including during the cold war as the Soviet Union.”
Reacting to China’s threat to European markets, Blinken also stated that Beijing “is seeking better relations with countries in Europe, it is also fueling the greatest challenge to European security since the end of the Cold War.”
And as I shared with my Chinese colleagues, you can’t have it both ways.
