2 years ago
The Russian government must carry out an "irreversible" withdrawal from its invasion of Ukraine before U.S. sanctions will be lifted, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NPR in an interview published Wednesday morning.
U.S. sanctions against Russia are "not designed to be permanent" and could "go away" Blinken said, should Russia change its behavior. But a mere withdrawal of Russian forces would not be enough; instead, Blinken said the U.S. would insist that a Russian pullback be, “in effect, irreversible,” so "this can't happen again, that Russia won't pick up and do exactly what it's doing in a year or two years or three years."
The secretary of state's comments come ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to Congress Wednesday morning, when he is expected to ask for more assistance than the U.S. has thus far been willing to offer. While Zelenskyy has pleaded for NATO countries to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine and to provide it with fighter jets, the U.S. and its trans-Atlantic allies have ruled out those options over fears that they could escalate the conflict.
On Tuesday, the Department of the Treasury announced new sanctions on members of the Russian Ministry of Defense as well as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. has also sanctioned Russian banks, oligarchs and their families. Last week, President Joe Biden announced a complete ban on imports of Russian oil, gas and energy.
Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have thus far been fruitless and Blinken did not disclose any direct contact between the U.S. and Moscow. "There are always ways of communicating," he told NPR. "Diplomacy ultimately is going to have to be part of the solution to this. But that really depends on Vladimir Putin engaging."
Despite continued resistance by Ukraine, Putin shows little sign of retreating. Adding to concern are reports that Russia has asked China for assistance. National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Yang Jiechi, China’s top foreign policy official, on Monday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war.
"China's already on the wrong side of history when it comes to the Ukraine," Blinken said. "If China actually provides material support in one way or another to Russia in this effort, that would be even worse, and that's something we're looking very carefully at."
Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium, later this month to participate in a NATO Summit and a European Council meeting, the White House announced Tuesday.
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