When asked whether the United States supports President Zelenskyy’s wish recover Crimea ? Here is Antony Blinken’s response: “We believe that an important principle is at stake: we want peace. We want this conflict to be resolved. But we believe that peace must be just and lasting in our own interest. We are turning to the Ukrainians, they must decide… Because we do not want the conflict to be resolved in such a way that the Russians can take their time, rearm and attack again. »
Antony Blinken was specifically asked by Republican lawmaker Chris Stewart whether the United States supports President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s desire to retake Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. The top diplomat, who believes the conditions for negotiations are not met, insisted that “these are decisions that Ukrainians must make about how they see their future and how that translates to the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence affects.
Antony Blinken thus appears to be supporting the fact that the Ukrainians would have a hard time regaining all the territories annexed by Russia, especially Crimea, according to Marie-Christine Bonzom, a political scientist specializing in the United States: “If he says: ‘It’s coming depends on what the Ukrainians want”, it should perhaps be interpreted as “it depends on what the Ukrainians can achieve militarily”. The United States and its European allies oppose Russian annexation in principle, but their answer to the question is still evasive. »
The United States nevertheless pledges that it will continue to provide Ukraine with financial and military assistance as needed.
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