“Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime. After so much destruction in the past three weeks, I find it difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing anything other than that,” Antony Blinken said at a press conference, while specifying that the legal process to arrive at such a formal indictment was still ongoing.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “war criminal”a charge judged “unforgivable” by Moscow.
“Yesterday President Biden said that in his opinion war crimes had been committed in Ukraine. Personally, I agree”said Antony Blinken.
“Our experts are documenting possible war crimes”
“Our experts are documenting and reviewing possible war crimes committed in Ukraine”he added, promising to share the fruit of this work with international investigations aimed at making “report to those responsible”.
Asked about the talks between Russia and Ukraine, which are continuing in parallel with the conflict, the Secretary of State did not hide his scepticism.
“No significant effort from Russia”
“On the one hand, we salute Ukraine for remaining at the negotiating table while it is under bombardment at all times, and on the other hand, I have not seen any significant effort on the part of of Russia to put an end through diplomacy to the war it is waging”he said.
After a meeting in Rome between senior American and Chinese officials, and on the eve of a phone call between President Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping, Antony Blinken finally raised his voice significantly with regard to Beijing.
Pressure on China
“We are concerned that they are planning to directly assist Russia with military equipment that would be used in Ukraine. President Biden will speak to President Xi tomorrow, and will make it clear to him that China will bear responsibility for any act aimed at supporting Russian aggression, and that we will not hesitate to impose costs on it”he said.
He reiterated that China has the “responsibility to use her influence with President Putin and to defend the international rules and principles she says she supports”.
“But on the contrary, it seems that China is going in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression, while trying to present itself as a neutral arbiter”he lamented.
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