Five years after the famous mutual meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, the Finnish capital received a visit from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Where previously there were meetings at the highest level, on neutral ground, with classified content and a public exchange of praise, now the head of US diplomacy is defending the strategy followed by the Allies – with Finland meanwhile in the ranks of NATO and Putin without being able to set foot on the territory of the neighboring country because of the ICC’s arrest warrant – as the right thing to one day achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia. Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán thinks otherwise when he proposes a ceasefire and peace talks “before the Ukrainian counter-attack”.
In a speech in the Helsinki Chamber, Blinken explained that only a Ukraine capable of defending itself can move on to the negotiating table. “Precisely because we have no illusions about Putin’s aspirations, we believe that the precondition for relevant diplomacy and genuine peace is a stronger Ukraine capable of deterring and defending itself against future aggression,” he said. A ceasefire that would freeze Russia’s gains to the ground is a scenario the man in charge of the Foreign Ministry rejects: “It is not a just and lasting peace, it is a Potemkin peace,” he said in reference to the facade used by Catherine II’s retinue wandering through Russian villages. “It would reward the aggressor and punish the victim,” he continued.
Source: DN
