Ukrainian President Zelensky has long called for the elimination of Western weapons requirements in Russia. Now, US Secretary of State Blinken has said during a visit to Kiev that the US is ready for talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday evening that he would report to U.S. President Joe Biden what he had heard in Kiev. Among other things, his discussions included the use of long-range weapons by the Russian Federation, which Ukraine has long demanded. He wants to bring those discussions back to Washington.
The United States has always adapted to the changing demands of the battlefield and will continue to do so. Escalation is something the United States always has in mind, Blinken continued. “But it is not the only factor, and it is not necessarily the determining factor.”
Call for the abolition of the agreement limits
Blinken made the point at a news conference in Kiev, also attended by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Kiev’s new Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who said fears of escalation had overtaken any fundamental decisions on the supply of new types of weapons or new qualities.
The Ukrainian invasion of Kursk, a Russian border town, has overcome these fears, Sybiha says. “It is important to lift all restrictions on the use of American and British weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory. It also requires decisiveness in launching Russian missiles and drones over Ukraine. The farther Ukraine can operate, the closer it is to a just peace.”
Zelensky opens Crimean platform
The US Secretary of State also met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev. He has long called on Russia to stop demanding that Western weapons be used, and when asked by journalists, he said: “Am I optimistic that they will decide to allow us to use long-range weapons? Unfortunately, it depends not on my optimism, but on their determination.”
Zelensky previously launched the Crimean platform, which will be held annually from 2021 and will address the situation in the Ukrainian peninsula, which Russia annexed in violation of international law. Representatives of the Crimean Tatars once again criticized the systematic illegality, arbitrariness and persecution of the Russian occupation forces.
Crimean Tatar population group
The Crimean Tatars are the largest indigenous group on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. They have lived there for centuries and have their own language.
Their history is stained with oppression. With the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the situation for the Crimean Tatars worsened again. Activists were arrested and people disappeared. Tens of thousands fled as a result. The Russian government denies persecution of the Crimean Tatars.
Lord and Head of government Participate
At the opening ceremony, the president recalled the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which began with the expulsion of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 and Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula a decade earlier.
“It was with this occupation that Russia began its assault on Ukraine and on our state and the entire way of life that unites our country,” Zelensky said. “Europe became a target for Russia when Putin believed he could afford to steal Crimea in 2014.”
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and British Foreign Secretary Lammy also joined the Crimea Platform, as did other heads of state and government, including those from Lithuania and Latvia.
In Kiev, Blinken also announced additional economic and humanitarian assistance worth about €650 million, much of which should go to the energy infrastructure that Russia has systematically destroyed.
Andrea Beer, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, 11 September 2024, 10:06 PM
