QUESTION: We go now to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was also in Munich and is here in Washington this morning. Good morning to you, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good morning, Margaret.
QUESTION: President Biden says Vladimir Putin has made up his mind to invade. But we spoke with Russia’s ambassador earlier this morning, and he insists there’s no invasion, no plan to invade, and only has troops on his own soil. Do you have reason to believe Vladimir Putin is changing his mind?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: No, we don’t. As President Biden said the other night, everything we’re seeing tells us that the decision we believe President Putin has made to invade is moving forward. We’ve seen that with provocations created by the Russian or separatist forces over the weekend, false flag operations. Now the news just this morning that the quote, unquote “exercises” Russia was engaged in in Belarus with 30,000 Russian forces that were supposed to end this weekend will now continue because of tensions in eastern Ukraine, tensions created by Russia and the separatist forces it backs there.
QUESTION: We understand President Biden is calling a meeting of his National Security Council today. What decisions will be made at that meeting?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, it’s an opportunity to review the latest information, the latest intelligence, to check signals, to check plans. I just came back from Munich with the Vice President. She led our delegation there to make sure that we are in lockstep with allies and partners on everything that we’re going to do both to see if we can still prevent President Putin from carrying forth his decision, and if not, making sure that we’re fully coordinated with allies and partners on the response. They reiterated that massive consequences will follow if President Putin carries forth with the aggression.
QUESTION: Well, when we last spoke on January 23rd, you told me that if Russia engages in other tactics short of invasion – hybrid actions, cyber attacks, efforts to bring the government down – there will be a swift, calibrated, and united response. Aren’t they doing all of those things right now? And where is the U.S. response?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: First of all, we’ve taken significant action over the – in recent months supplying Ukraine with more defensive – lethal defensive assistance over the last year than at any previous years.
QUESTION: But those cyber attacks were just attributed by the White House on Friday. Those just happened.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: And we’ve worked closely with Ukraine to ward them off, to get back up and running. We’ve now made an attribution to Russia for those cyber attacks. We’re looking closely at the response that that may call for. And we’re doing all of this in coordination with allies and partners. If Russia commits the aggression that may be in train, all of that has been part of our plan, and we’re carrying it forward.
QUESTION: You said that you will meet with Russia’s top diplomat, but only if Russia does not invade.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right.
QUESTION: But it seems contradictory because what you are saying is that’s tanks and that’s planes, but does that mean Russia has carte blanche to continue cyber attacks, to continue funding separatists in the east? If they keep tensions at this low boil, is that acceptable to you? Will you still sit down and negotiate?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: It’s – it’s not acceptable. Two things. There are two separate things there.
First of all, it’s not acceptable, and it’s one of the things that we’ve talked about in some detail with allies and partners this weekend. That is a scenario by which Russia just keeps things at a low or medium boil, and there will be a response to that, too.
But in terms of engaging Russia, my job as a diplomat is to leave absolutely no stone unturned and see if we can prevent a war. And if there’s anything that I can do to do that, I’m going to do it. President Biden has made very clear that he’s prepared to meet President Putin at any time in any format if that can help prevent a war. And as long as – even if the die is cast, until it’s settled, until we know that the tanks are rolling, the planes are flying, and the aggression has fully begun, we’re going to do everything we can to prevent it.
But we’re prepared either way, and we’re prepared with a response that will have massive consequences for Russia if it actually carries this through.
QUESTION: You have consistently described sanctions as a deterrent, but I know you heard President Zelenskyy really light into the Western allies in that speech in Munich. And he accused you and the West of appeasement of Vladimir Putin over the past few years. He said, “We don’t need your sanctions after the bombardment or after we have no borders or after we have no economy or after parts of our country will be occupied. What are you waiting for?”
What are you waiting for?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: I can’t speak, Margaret, to the last few years. I can speak to the last few months and to the last year. And in that period of time, the United States, again, has provided to Ukraine more assistance, including lethal military assistance, defense assistance, more in the past year than at any time in any previous year. We have rallied other countries to stand in support of Ukraine, as well, to provide their own assistance. We’ve rallied other countries to make clear and to put together in great detail the massive consequences that will befall Russia if it engages in this aggression. The purpose of that is to do everything we can to deter it, to prevent a war, to deter the aggression. And we don’t want to pull the trigger until we have to because we lose the deterrent effect.
At the same time, we also don’t want to detail in public exactly what we’re going to do because that will forewarn Russia; it will be able to prepare more effectively to try to mitigate the sanctions. So, all of this is very well thought through. And look, I recognize President Zelenskyy is in a very difficult position as the leader of a country that is under siege by Russia. We are doing everything we can to both help Ukraine defend itself and to make clear what will happen to Russia if it undertakes this aggression.
QUESTION: When I spoke with the Russian ambassador, he referred to Crimea, that part of southern Ukraine that was annexed by Russia in 2014, as part of the Russian Federation. Will the U.S. in any way consider recognizing that, ceding that territory or any territories in the east of Ukraine, as a diplomatic way out to avoid a larger war?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: No.
QUESTION: No. Hard stop. That is not up for negotiation.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s correct.
QUESTION: The President has said that the United States will continue to support Ukraine in the future after an invasion. If there is an occupation, does that mean the United States is committed to funding and arming an insurgency?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: The President said that we will, in the event of an invasion, double down on our support for Ukraine, and that means in terms of security assistance, economic assistance, diplomatic assistance, political assistance, humanitarian assistance – you name it.
QUESTION: Secretary Blinken, good luck this week. Thank you for your time this morning.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks, Margaret. Good to be with you.
