US avoided direct conflict with Russia amid nuclear threats from Kremlin - Blinken
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State (photo: Getty Images)
The US was able to manage the threat of potential nuclear weapon use by Russia. This was achieved in a way that avoided direct conflict with Russia, states US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an interview with The New York Times.
In a conversation with journalists, the US official responded to questions about how close the US came to direct conflict with Russia amid its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Look, there’ve been different moments where we had real concerns about actions that Russia might take, including even potentially the use of nuclear weapons. That very much focused the mind. But I think throughout we’ve been able to navigate this in a way that has kept us away from direct conflict with Russia," Blinken noted.
According to the US Secretary of State, Russia is currently engaged in all sorts of nefarious activities, so-called hybrid attacks of one kind or another, whether it’s in cyberspace, whether it’s acts of sabotage or assassination.
"Those things are happening. They’re happening in Europe. And this is something that we’re working very closely on with many of our partners. But in terms of direct conflict, I don’t think we’ve been close, but it’s something that we’ve had to be very, very mindful of," he said, adding that Washington needs to keep this in mind.
On supporting Ukraine ahead of Russia's major attack
Speaking about US aid to Ukraine, Blinken expressed the intention to ensure that not only were we ready, but that our allies and partners were ready, and that Ukraine was ready for the large-scale aggression by Russia.
Blinken revealed that even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting in September 2021 and then in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves.
"Things like Stingers, Javelins that were instrumental in preventing Russia from taking Kyiv, from rolling over the country, erasing it from the map, and indeed pushing the Russians back," the US Secretary of State said.
He added that at various points in time, questions were raised about providing Ukraine with other types of weaponry.
"Is it an Abrams tank? Is it an F-16? What we’ve had to look at each and every time is not only should we give this to the Ukrainians but do they know how to use it? Can they maintain it? Is it part of a coherent plan? All of those things factored into the decisions we made on what to give them and when to give it," Blinken explained.
On the possibility of ending the war through diplomatic means
He also spoke about diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine in 2022, particularly in uniting more than 50 countries, not only in Europe but well beyond, in support of Ukraine and in defense of these principles that Russia also attacked back in February of that year.
He reminded that a lot of work was done in the lead-up to the war, including meetings with the Russian Foreign Minister in Geneva to find a way to prevent military aggression from the Kremlin against Ukraine.
"Since then, had there been any opportunity to engage diplomatically in a way that could end the war on just and durable terms, we would have been the first to seize them. Unfortunately, at least until this moment, we haven’t seen any signs that Russia has been genuinely prepared to engage. I hope that that changes," Blinken said.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the front line in Ukraine is unlikely to change significantly. According to the American official, the decision to end the war should be made by Ukrainians.
Recently, Blinken also revealed that China warned Russia against using nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
