We aim to restore Ukraine's sovereignty: Antony Blinken

On a visit to India to attend the G20 summit on March 2, US Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN spoke exclusively to India Today TV’s foreign affairs editor GEETA MOHAN. Excerpts:Q. The West seems to have failed in isolating Russia so far. Why?A. On the contrary, it’s clear in a variety of ways that Russia is isolated for its aggression against Ukraine. Go back a couple weeks ago—141 countries, three quarters of the United Nations, stood up in the General Assembly and voted for a resolution condemning Russia’s aggression and calling for a just, durable peace in Ukraine. Here at the G20, at the foreign ministers’ meeting, if you look at the chair statement that was put out by India, it reflects on the part of 18 of the 20 countries—that is, every country except for Russia and China—the very language used by the leaders in the Bali meetings just a few months ago about what Russia is doing in Ukraine.Countries are feeling it in a different way as there has been an assault not just on Ukraine but on the principles at the heart of the UN Charter, principles that are necessary for trying to keep the peace around the world. For example, one country can’t simply go and try and take over another, erase its borders, erase its identity. So all of those things, as well as the sanctions and export controls, are having an increasingly heavy impact on Russia. But ultimately, the objective is to get it to stop the aggression and to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty. And that requires that we continue to support Ukraine and exert pressure on Russia..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;} Q. Do you think because of this war, the focus has shifted from China and Chinese aggression, whether it is against Taiwan or India?A. On the contrary, I think that what Russia has done in Ukraine has awakened other parts of the world to concerns about other would-be aggressors. And the very reason that so many countries beyond Europe are standing up against Russia’s aggression is because they know that if we let that aggression pass with impunity, other would-be aggressors might say, well, if Russia can get away with it, so can we. And that, I think, is a powerful motivator. The US is deeply engaged throughout the Indo-Pacific with a shared goal that we have with India, with Japan, with Australia, but also with most countries in the region, and that is to make sure that we maintain a free, open, prosperous Indo-Pacific. And there are many things that we’re doing together to ensure that.Q. With one of the US agencies confirming that Covid-19 could have happened because of a lab leak in Wuhan in China, do you see biological warfare as a threat coming from China separately?A. We have real concerns about the potential development and use of bio-weapons. We’ve been working for years to try to ensure that wouldn’t happen. There’s something called the Biological Weapons Convention that we strongly adhere to, and at the same time we have programmes around the world to help countries that have biological research programmes—for medical reasons, for example–to make sure that they are fully safe and secure.Q. The recent USCIRF (US Commission on International Religious Freedom) report is highly critical of India on freedom of speech or treatment of minorities. Was that covered in your bilateral meetings with India’s foreign minister?A. We have an ongoing dialogue on both of our democracies and human rights, because, as the world’s two largest democracies, it’s central to who we are. It’s central to our identity. And I think that’s a shared commitment that both of us have. And when questions or issues come up, we discuss them directly, very openly, very freely. I think we would hold each other to account when there are concerns.Published By: Arindam MukherjeePublished On: Mar 10, 2023--- ENDS ---

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We aim to restore Ukraine's sovereignty: Antony Blinken

On a visit to India to attend the G20 summit on March 2, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke exclusively to India Today

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