The United States demands that Russia not only halts the invasion of Ukraine to receive sanctions relief, but that Moscow provides assurances that it will never take such actions again, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NPR on Wednesday.
He emphasized that any withdrawal would have to be, "in effect, irreversible," so that "this can't happen again, that Russia won't pick up and do exactly what it's doing in a year or two years or three years."
Blinken said that the Western sanctions, which he insisted are starting to cause long-term harm to the Russian economy that is "growing over time," are "not designed to be permanent" and that they could "go away" if Moscow should change its behavior.
The secretary of state, however, said he is not expecting Moscow to agree to such demands and that the more likely scenario is the continued devastation of Ukrainian cities.
Blinken stressed that "we've seen the brutality that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin has brought to this. We know his track record in Chechnya. We know the track record of what he's aided and abetted in Syria. I think we have to expect the same."
The United States and NATO have refused to commit troops to aid Ukraine, but have been providing weapons for the country’s defense.
Blinken also insists that he is working to ensure that Moscow does not find any way around the sanctions imposed against it, particularly warning Beijing not to help Putin.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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