The following is a transcript of an interview with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that aired on Face the Nation on June 25, 2023.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is one of the many top officials in the Biden administration who have been monitoring events over the past two days. And he comes to us from the State Department. Good morning, Mr Secretary.
EXTERNAL SECRETARY ANTONY BLINKEN: Good morning, Margaret.
Click here to view related media.
Click to expand
MARGARET BRENNAN: Can you tell us who in the Biden government had contact with the Russian leadership?
SEC. BLINKEN: Well, I’ve directed my own team, at the President’s behest, to work primarily with the Russians to ensure they understand their responsibilities in protecting our own personnel, ensuring their safety and the welfare of all American citizen in Russia. So a number of people got involved to make sure Russians get this message.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is the US ready for more unrest in Russia and for the scenario of Vladimir Putin not remaining in power?
SEC. BLINKEN: Margaret, this is an unfolding story. And I think we’re in the middle of a moving picture. We didn’t see the last act. We’re watching it very closely and closely, but just step back for a moment and put it in context. Sixteen months ago, Russian forces stood on the doorstep of Kiev, Ukraine, thinking they would take the city in a matter of days and wipe Ukraine off the map as an independent country. This weekend they had to defend Moscow, the capital of Russia, against Putin’s own mercenaries. Throughout this incident, Prigozhin himself has raised profound questions about the very premises of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, saying that Ukraine or NATO pose no threat to Russia, which is part of Putin’s narrative. And it was a direct challenge to Putin’s authority. So this raises profound questions. It shows real cracks. We can’t speculate or know exactly where this will lead. We know that Putin has much more to answer for in the coming weeks and months.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But is the US prepared for the possible fall of the Putin government? And is their nuclear arsenal, the largest in the world, safe?
SEC. BLINKEN: We always prepare for any eventuality that might happen in Russia. It is an internal matter for the Russians to find out. When we are dealing with a great power, and especially a great power that has nuclear weapons, that is of course a concern, something we are very focused on. We have seen no change in Russia’s nuclear stance. There hasn’t been any change for us, but we will monitor it very, very closely.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Vladimir Putin is appearing on television this morning. But it appears to have been pre-recorded. Do you know where Vladimir Putin is currently? Is he in Moscow?
SEC. BLINKEN: I don’t want to – I don’t want to speculate on that or on the information that we have. Here, too, we are observing this closely. I think that tells you, among other things, that we are still not final about what was actually agreed between Prigozhin and Putin. I suspect we’ll learn more about the deal they’ve struck in the coming days and weeks. Our focus is relentless on Ukraine, making sure she continues to have what she needs to defend herself and retake territory conquered by Russia. The President not only brought together the National Security Cabinet yesterday, he brought together the leaders of our key allies and partners. He challenged us all to do the same. When it comes to supporting Ukraine, we are very much in agreement on our goals and our actions. And this is where our focus lies.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But as you just said, Prigozhin questioned the very premise of Vladimir Putin’s war. So, are the Wagner fighters returning to fight in Ukraine? We know?
SEC. BLINKEN: It’s too early to say what will happen to the Wagner forces and if they will return to combat. And it was extraordinary that they moved to Russia from Ukraine. But it’s too early to tell if they’ll return to combat as Wagner and if they’ll be integrated into regular Russian forces. What that means for Wagner in other parts of the world. I mean, consider that both Putin and Prigozhin are responsible for committing horrible acts against Ukrainian civilians in Ukraine. But even in the case of Wagner, in country after country in Africa, wherever Wagner is, death, destruction and exploitation result. But all of this will likely unfold over the coming days over the coming weeks. To the extent that it’s a real distraction for Putin and the Russian authorities to watch out for, they somehow have to be on their guard even as they try to engage with the counteroffensive and Ukraine. I think that opens up even more opportunities for Ukrainians to be successful on the ground.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, as you just implied, Yevgeny Prigozhin has a footprint that stretches from Africa to Syria to Ukraine. Do you have any idea where he is right now?
SEC. BLINKEN: I can’t go into what we know or don’t know, through-through intelligence. It’s something we look at and pursue. But the most important thing for us is to do exactly what the President did yesterday, which is, even though it brought people together, to share all the information we had about what was going on in Russia to make sure we could continue to focus on focus on the whole We support the Ukrainians and make sure that they do their best. When it comes to the counteroffensive.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, among other things, Prigozhin directly undermined the Russian military leadership. Do we know who currently heads the Russian military? And how could Vladimir Putin agree to changes in the leadership of his military and still look like he’s in charge?
SEC. BLINKEN: Well, those are great questions. And I think we will get the answers in the coming days and weeks. It’s still too early to say for sure what the final chapter of this particular book will be like. The looming Prigozhin storm within Russia is something that many people have been seeing for months. Direct challenges to the military leadership, severe criticism of Russia’s behavior in its aggression against Ukraine and now the actual premises of the war being called into question. Prigozhin himself said that Ukraine and NATO posed no threat to Russia, which, as you know, is part of Putin’s narrative. This creates further cracks in the Russian facade. And those cracks are already deep. Economically, militarily, his standing in the world, all have been dramatically weakened by Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. He managed to bring Europe together, he managed to bring NATO together, he managed to make Europe turn away from Russian energy, he managed to alienate Ukrainians while uniting Ukraine. So all in all, this was a strategic failure. Now you introduce deep internal divisions into it. And there are many questions he will need to answer in the coming weeks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is there a possibility of a civil war?
SEC. BLINKEN: I don’t want to speculate about that. These are basically internal affairs of the Russians – it’s not our job to find out. It is our job to ensure that Ukraine continues to have what it needs to defend itself and reclaim the territory that Russia sees of it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Will President Biden address Vladimir Putin directly? Has the CIA director made contact with the Russian secret service?
SEC. BLINKEN: Margaret, I will not go into any diplomatic contacts that we may have or may have had. I can tell you that on my instructions, on the instructions of the President, we had some contacts with the Russians over the weekend. Make sure they are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to keeping our personnel safe in Russia . It is very important that we do this and we have done so.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I would like to ask you about Beijing. I was with you earlier this week. And I listened to you choose your every word very carefully. And then, on the way home, President Biden called Xi Jinping a struggling dictator who didn’t know what his own military was doing by raising the spy balloon over the United States. How much did that damage your work?
SEC. BLINKEN: Margaret, I think you heard me say during and after the trip that the main purpose was to bring more stability to the relationship. We have a duty, and I think China has a duty, to responsibly manage these relationships and ensure that the profound differences we have do not culminate in conflict. But one of the things I said to my Chinese colleagues during this trip was that we will continue to do and say things that you don’t like, just as no doubt you will continue to do and say things that we don’t like. And if you look at what’s coming out of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs –
MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you saying that was a strategic remark?
SEC. BLINKING: – You will hear this every day. The President always speaks openly, he speaks directly. He speaks loud and clear, and He speaks for all of us. But the entire focus of what we do is to ensure that while we express our differences through actions or words, we do the same. We are continuing to work on this in order to expand our communication channels, because we bear a responsibility. And above all, we have a responsibility to ensure that the competition in which we find ourselves does not conflict. I think we’ve now found a better way to do just that. And we will see that in the coming weeks and months.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You also said that Chinese officials assured you that they would not provide legal assistance to Russia, but Chinese companies did. According to the US Treasury Department, Chinese companies have also done business with the Wagner Group. Have you reached out to the Chinese to find out what is currently happening on the ground in Russia?
SEC. BLINKEN: Again, I can’t go into any diplomatic context, which we may or may not have had. But you are absolutely right that during the visit, the Chinese reaffirmed to us and many other countries that they have not provided lethal military aid to Russia for operations in Ukraine and will not do so in the future. I have also shared the concerns you have expressed about the provision of this type of support by Chinese companies and urged them to be vigilant in this regard. I’m sure they will make their own assessments of what has happened in Russia over the past few days. And as our contacts develop and we have stronger and more sustained lines of communication, one of the things we need to talk about is the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. We talked about that for a while when I was in China. I expect these talks to continue.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Minister Blinken, thank you very much for your time this morning.
SEC. BLINK: Thank you, Margaret. nice to be with you
More