Blinken shares vision of achieving peace in Ukraine
Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes peace in Ukraine must be achieved from a position of strength – initially by an agreement on a ceasefire with a credible deterrent to Vladimir Putin, and later – by resolving the status of the occupied territories.
He said this in an interview with The New Yorker Radio Hour on the occasion of ending his service as head of American diplomacy, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.
“So it needs to be from a position of strength, but there’s something else that’s critical,” the head of the U.S. State Department noted.
According to Blinken, there is one thing that must be included in any resolution: “And when I say ‘resolution,’ I really mean a ceasefire, because there’s not going to be an ultimate resolution in the near term.”
He explained that the ceasefire must be sustainable and long-term.
“That means that there has to be a credible deterrent, because Putin will use any ceasefire to rest, refit, and then eventually re-attack,” Blinken noted.
He also expressed belief that the issue of the status of the territories currently temporarily under Russian control “probably won’t be resolved for a long time.”
At the same time, the outgoing chief of the State Department expressed confidence that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine will reflect in his policy a solution that will be responsive to the Ukrainian people.
