Victims Of Russian Aggression 'Not Only Ukrainians But People All Around World', Blinken Says

Washington D.C./29.03.23/Turan:  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday warned that calls from some nations for a ceasefire in Ukraine could be a “very cynical trap” that freezes the conflict where things stand, allowing Russia to consolidate the territory it has illegally seized and “use the time to rest and refit and then re-attack,” TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The top diplomat made the remarks during a virtual session of the Summit for Democracy with his fellow counterparts.

According to him, the victims of Russia’s aggression are not only Ukrainians but people all around the world. "The Kremlin’s war has exacerbated acute food insecurity, already at crisis levels due to COVID-19, climate change, and other conflicts, putting millions at risk. It pushed up the price of fertilizer, fuel, and food, making it harder for families in every part of the world to make ends meet," he said.

Russia's war is an attack not only on Ukraine, but on the international rules-based order that seeks to defend international peace and stability, and uphold, in the words of the United Nations Charter, “the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small,” as Blinken put it.

He went on to add, "... Worldwide, we see autocrats violating human rights and suppressing fundamental freedoms; corrupting – and with corruption eating away at young people’s faith in their future; citizens questioning whether democracy can still deliver on the issues that matter most to their lives and to their livelihoods... And we see authoritarian regimes reaching beyond their borders to coerce free and open societies through increasingly aggressive, revisionist foreign policies.

Nothing illustrates the gravity of that threat more than Russia’s brutal and unjustified war against Ukraine."

Putin’s overall objective was to erase Ukraine’s identity as an independent, sovereign nation and absorb it into Russia. Blinken reminded that the world has come together on multiple occasions at the UN General Assembly to condemn Russia’s aggression and the atrocities that have come with it. "Countries from the North and South, developed and developing, established and emerging democracies, have all called on Russia to end this war and pursue a just and durable peace in Ukraine."

The United States "is committed to supporting meaningful diplomatic efforts that can achieve this," Blinken said. "We all know that for peace to be just, it must uphold the principles at the heart of the UN Charter: sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence.  And for peace to be durable, it must ensure that Russia can’t simply rest and refit its troops, and then relaunch the war at a time more advantageous to it," he concluded.

Alex Raufoglu