Washington:
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Thursday that Russia has shown no real interest in ending the war in Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin said he wanted a quick resolution.
Blinken said he had virtually spoken with G7 foreign ministers on Thursday about the idea of a “just peace” raised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his historic visit to Washington the previous day.
Blinken called Zelensky’s ideas “a good start” and that any peace would need to be “just and lasting” — the U.S. would not impose its own solution on Ukraine.
“Russia is fundamentally not interested in ending this war through meaningful diplomacy, through meaningful engagement,” Blinken said at a news conference.
He said Russia could end the war immediately by withdrawing its troops, but “if there is no withdrawal, we have to see some meaningful evidence that Russia is ready to actually negotiate a just and lasting peace.”
“Just — a country that doesn’t just authorize another country to take another country’s territory by force,” Blinken said.
“Long-lasting — in the sense that we want to make sure that it lasts, we’re not simply putting Ukraine in a situation where Russia is going to repeat what it did in a month, six months, a year. “
Putin, who invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, told reporters earlier Thursday that he wanted the conflict to end “as soon as possible.”
(Aside from the title, this story is unedited by NDTV staff and published via a syndicated feed.)
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