U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a speech Friday in Helskini, Finland, that the U.S. welcomed mediation efforts by China, Brazil, or any other nation to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Blinken’s address was billed in advance as a way to emphasize “all the ways in which Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been a strategic failure.” However, it also offered the following strategic twist:
The United States has been working with Ukraine, and allies and partners around the world, to build consensus around the four [sic] elements of a just and lasting peace. To be clear: The United States welcomes any addition that helps bring President Putin to the table to engage in meaningful diplomacy. We’ll support efforts, whether by Brazil, China, or any other nation, if they help find a way to a just and lasting peace, consistent with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Here’s what that means.
Blinken went on to explain:
A just and lasting peace must uphold the UN Charter, and affirm the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.
A just and lasting peace requires Ukraine’s full participation and assent. Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.
A just and lasting peace must support Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery, with Russia paying its share.
A just and lasting peace must address both accountability, and reconciliation.
A just and lasting peace can open a pathway to sanctions relief connected to concrete actions, especially military withdrawal.
A just and lasting peace must end Russia’s war of aggression.
While outlining Russia’s failures in the war, Blinken tried to reassure the world that the U.S. wanted the best for Russia. He also claimed that the U.S. does not want to remove President Vladimir Putin from power in Russia — despite President Joe Biden himself demanding that Putin be removed in a speech he gave in Warsaw last year.
Reports of a Chinese plan for peace in Ukraine emerged this spring, with French President Emmanuel Macron shuttling to Beijing. The Biden administration, which has declined to pressure Ukraine to pursue peace talks, downplayed the Chinese effort but did not dismiss it entirely.
It is possible Biden wants to maintain a bellicose stance while allowing China to mediate — at the price of allowing China to expand its foothold in Europe.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
