Ukraine's front line unlikely to change much - Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the front line in Ukraine is unlikely to change much. He added that the decision to end the war should be made by Ukrainians, reports The New York Times.
Blinken made the statement when asked whether it was time to end the war.
“These are decisions for Ukrainians to make. They have to decide where their future is and how they want to get there. Where the line is drawn on the map at this point, I don’t think is fundamentally going to change very much... the line, as a practical matter in the foreseeable future, is unlikely to move very much,” the US Secretary of State said.
At the same time, he noted that Ukraine's claims to the occupied territory will always be there, and the question is whether Ukrainians will find ways to regain the lost territory with the support of others.
He also said it was unlikely that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would give up his ambitions to take over Ukraine. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that our country will have the ability to deter Russian aggression in order to make any ceasefire last.
“If there’s a cease-fire, then, in Putin’s mind, the cease-fire is likely to give him time to rest, to refit, to reattack at some point in the future. So what’s going to be critical to make sure that any cease-fire that comes about is actually enduring is to make sure that Ukraine has the capacity going forward to deter further aggression,” Blinken said.
The secretary of state clarified that deterrence can take many forms. Both through NATO and through guarantees from various countries. This is necessary to ensure that Russia understands that if it attacks again, it will face big problems.
About two weeks ago, Blinken said that Ukrainians are now in a process where they need to make an extremely important decision. It is about whether to continue fighting or negotiate peace.
