US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference. Munich, February 19, 2022.   Blinken: aggression against Ukraine is not in the interests of the Russian people

During a trip to the Munich Security Conference, the US Secretary of State gave an interview to Russian and German journalists

On Saturday, February 19, an exclusive interview with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was published on the Dozhd TV website. In it, the head of American diplomacy spoke about the efforts Washington is making to prevent the escalation of tension between Russia and Ukraine. He also noted that the aggression against Ukraine does not correspond to the national interests of Russia and the interests of the Russian people.

“How does aggression against Ukraine meet the interests of the Russian people? I do not understand this. We have so many issues that we need to concentrate on, including together. The fight against COVID-19, which has become a problem for everyone. Fighting climate change. Strengthening our economies to raise the standard of living of the people. This is where our energy should be directed,” Blinken said.

Blinken added that Moscow's statements about the genocide in the Donbass are absolutely wrong, insulting and devalue the very concept of “genocide”. There is no harassment, the Secretary of State stressed. This, according to him, is confirmed by OSCE observers working on the Ukrainian side of the dividing line in Donbass.

“Before 2014, before Crimea, before Donbass, 25% of Ukrainians wanted to join NATO. Today, 60-65% already want this,” Blinken noted. “Through his actions and those of Russia, President Putin brought closer what he said he wanted to prevent. And if it continues, I think it will only get worse. And the people who will suffer are, first of all, ordinary Ukrainians. If there is an attack on Kiev, where almost three million people live, it will be a disaster. But I must also say, I'm afraid that the Russians will suffer as well. Ukrainians will not welcome the Russian military with open arms….”

The US Secretary of State said that Joe Biden may consider meeting with Vladimir Putin.

“President Biden is always fully prepared to meet if we believe it can promote diplomacy and peace,” Blinken said.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also gave an interview to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung in which he reacted to the recent response Russia on security guarantees.

Washington, Blinken repeated once again, does not intend to abandon NATO's open door policy and return the alliance to its pre-1997 positions. The Secretary of State suggested that today the Kremlin may be seeking to “rebuild the Soviet empire” or “Finlandize the countries” around Russia, thereby infringing on the rights of small states to independently determine their foreign policy. For Washington, as the Secretary of State noted, this approach of Moscow to the problems of international security is unacceptable.

Answering a question from a German journalist about the American position on Nord Stream 2, Blinken said that this position of Washington is well known Berlin and that in the face of the likelihood of new Russian aggression against Ukraine, the United States is counting on a consolidated approach to anti-Russian sanctions, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed this.

At the same time, Anthony Blinken did not specifically answer the question reporter on whether Washington, in turn, is ready to include a ban on the supply of Russian oil to the United States in the list of new Western sanctions?

“I don’t want to go into details, but I can tell you that we will a strong, cohesive response,” the American diplomat replied.