Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said he did not see “any indication” that Vladimir Putin was “prepared to stop” the war in Ukraine, as he poured cold water on hopes of a settlement. diplomacy and vowed that American officials would investigate the war. crimes committed by Russian forces in the country.
“From my position, diplomacy clearly requires both sides to engage in good faith to de-escalate. And I see no indication right now that Putin is ready to stop,” Blinken said from the State Department in Washington on Thursday.
He continued: “The actions we are seeing Russia take every day, almost every minute of every day, stand in stark contrast to any serious diplomatic effort towards war.
In his remarks, Blinken laid out what he thinks Putin’s next moves could be, including using chemical weapons, deploying pro-Russian mercenaries and kidnapping local officials. to be replaced by pro-Russian puppet leaders.
A day after US President Joe Biden said he thought Putin was a “war criminal”, Blinken also attacked Moscow for increasingly gruesome attacks on civilian targets in the country.
“Deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime. After all the destruction of the past few weeks, I find it very difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing otherwise,” he said.
Blinken continued: “Our experts are in the process of profiling and assessing possible war crimes in Ukraine. We will ensure that our findings help international efforts to investigate war crimes and hold those responsible.”
