‘No sign Putin is serious’ about Ukraine negotiations, says Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no seriousness about diplomacy to end the Ukraine war, despite a series of international efforts.

The secretary of state has been on the stand for almost three hours, and was confronted by the Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who wanted to know why the Biden administration was “agitating” for Ukraine to join Nato.

Blinken denied the assertion:

“These are sovereign decisions for nations to make. This goes to the heart of the international system and order, the basic principle that one country can’t dictate to another the choices it makes as to whom it allies.

It is abundantly clear, in Putin’s own words, that this was never about Ukraine being potentially part of Nato. It was always about his belief that Ukraine does not deserve to be a sovereign independent country [and] that it must be reassumed into Russia in one form or another.”

Blinken said the US is “not going to be more Ukrainian than the Ukrainians”:

“These are decisions for them to make. Our purpose is to make sure that they have within their hands the ability to repel the Russian aggression, and, indeed, to strengthen their hand at an eventual negotiating table.

We’ve seen no sign to date that President Putin is serious about meaningful negotiations. If he is, and if the Ukrainians engage, we’ll support that.”

As for how the war ends, Blinken said:

“The end state should be determined by the Ukrainians as a sovereign, independent country.”