"Putin Will Not Give Up On His Imperial Ambitions":  Blinken, In Paris, Discusses Ukraine, MidEast, Caucasus With French Leaders

The top U.S. and French diplomats on Wednesday in Paris asserted that their nations would try to continue working together through potential political turbulence in the coming years, including on the war in Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East and other key challenges, TURAN's U.S. correspondent, who is currently traveling with Antony Blinken across Asia and Europe on his final diplomatic trip, reporters.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, have also discussed the Caucasus, more specifically, the latest political crises in Georgia.

"We talked about this as well. And what both France and the U.S. have seen is democratic backsliding that’s deeply concerning," Blinken told TURAN's correspondent during a joint press conference.

He went on to add, "And not just democratic backsliding, but a retreat away from the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of the Georgian people, the aspiration to build a future that is closer and closer to Europe"

Having seen that backsliding, the U.S. and its partners have taken action, Blinken reminded, highlighting the recent sanctioning of Bijdina Ivanishvili and other members of the Georgian Dream government, as well as invoking the Vienna Mechanism through OSCE.

"So I think you see a clear unity of purpose when it comes to the U.S, France, and many other countries faced with the very unfortunate actions of the government in Georgia," he added.
 
On Ukraine, Blinken said France's leadership will be essential in the months to come for "ensuring that Ukraine has what it needs to be in the strongest possible position to defend its democratic independence, whether that’s on the battlefield or at the negotiating table."

He went on to highlight the risks associated with premature ceasefires, cautioning that Vladimir Putin might exploit such pauses in fighting to reinforce Russian military capabilities.

"Here’s what we know:  Putin has not and will not give up on his imperial ambitions. And if there’s a ceasefire, he’ll want to try to use the time to rest, to refit, and eventually to re-attack," Blinken said when responding to TURAN's questions.

That's why, he added, any potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia should include 'real deterrent' against any further aggression: "... That can take different forms, including the form of having certain countries police any demarcation or any ceasefire line, and that’s something I know that’s been discussed and that we talked about today," he said.

Foreign minister Barrot also told TURAN's correspondent that the world should "show no complacency or certainly not be naive when it comes to the imperialistic views of Vladimir Putin".  

"And I quote the word used by Tony Blinken in this respect.  Why?  Because since February 2022, the threat posed by Vladimir Putin has changed.  We’ve seen that Putin’s Russia could launch a full-scale invasion just as they did in Ukraine.  It became more international as well by exporting the conflict to Asia and by involving North Korea as well.  And it became hybrid by getting into all fields of conflict and by attacking even members of the EU," he said.

Therefore, he went on to add "our priority is of course to support Ukraine and allow Ukraine to, whenever they decide – choose to do so, to enter negotiation – negotiations with a strong hand, but also make sure that there is no return of the war on the European continent.  It means that on our behalf, on behalf of all other Europeans, we need to step up our efforts in order to deter the threat from Russia, which is pushing towards the west."

TURAN also asked Barrot about increasing concerns over Russia's election meddling efforts across Europe. Highlighting French regulations on digital services to hold social media responsible for any potential threat coming through their platforms, he urged the European Commission to ensure that those regulations are applied and to be 'extremely firm' in this respect.

"Should the European Commission fail to do so, it would have to turn back to the European members the possibility of acting in their own name," he added.

Both diplomats also addressed some of the challenges already posed to U.S. alliances by the imminent return of President Trump to the White House, and said they believed that an American takeover of Greenland was an impossible idea.

“The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one, but maybe more important, it’s obviously one that’s not going to happen," Blinken said when pressed by reporters.  “So we probably shouldn’t waste a lot of time talking about it.”

Barrot agreed that he did not think the United States would invade Greenland, but said: “Do we think that we are entering a period in which we’re returning to the law of the jungle? The answer is yes.”