Vedant Patel
Washington D.C./22.06.23/Turan: The United States does not believe Russia's Vladimir Putin, whatever he says, is genuinely interested in engaging in conversations around just and lasting peace in Ukraine, despite his claims to the contrary during a visit of African leaders, the State Department said on Wednesday.
"Actions speak louder than words here.... These very same African leaders spent time in a bomb shelter during their visit when they were in town to push forward and discuss a peace proposal," Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily press briefing. "So President Putin says a lot of things; I will leave it up to you all to interpret how many of them are true or not."
Patel went on to add, "It is quite clear in the actions of Russia – bombarding Kyiv, targeting civilian infrastructure, targeting energy infrastructure, targeting apartment buildings, targeting hospitals – that they show no meaningful interest in determining peace and ending this war."
While there’s a "lot of conversations and calls about peace", Patel said, it’s important to remember that we are not talking about two aggressors here. "We’re talking about one country that is infringing on the territorial integrity of another."
He concluded: "If the Russian Federation was interested, they could start by having its troops leave Ukraine, or they could start by stopping its continued bombardment of civilian and energy infrastructure."
Washngton on Wednesday also announced an additional $1.3 billion for Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.
“Every investment that we make in Ukraine’s recovery is aimed at bringing Ukrainians closer to that reality,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an address at the InterContinental Hotel in London.
According to him, the U.S. is ready to invest more than $520 million to help Ukraine overhaul its energy infrastructure, adding that Russian shelling has destroyed more than half of the country’s critical power grid.
In addition, the U.S. will provide $657 million to help modernize Ukrainian rail lines and ports and another $100 million toward upgrading Ukraine’s customs programs, Blinken said.
Alex Raufoglu
Politics
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