Blinken "I won't give up Putin's ambition"...prudence in Trump-style cease-fire

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken stressed that the end of the war is a decision for Ukrainians to make amid the rise of a ceasefire in Ukraine in the Trump administration, and that the important thing is to have deterrence capabilities.

Blinken, who will end his term with Biden's retirement in the middle of this month, said in an interview with the New York Times (NYT), which was reported on the 4th local time.

Asked if he thought it was time to end the war ahead of the launch of the Trump administration, which emphasizes ending the war in Ukraine, Blinken said, "It's a decision for Ukrainians to make," adding, "I don't think the boundaries on the current map will fundamentally change significantly."

When asked if he thought Russia should hand over the region controlled, he said, "It is not a matter of transfer. "Realistically, it is unlikely that the boundary will change significantly in the near future," he said. "Ukraine will always claim its rights to the territory."

"It is unlikely that President Putin will give up his ambitions," he said. "If there is a ceasefire, in Putin's opinion, the ceasefire is likely to give him time to rest and reorganize and attack again in the future."

"So what is important to achieve a sustainable ceasefire in any form is for Ukraine to have the capability to contain further attacks going forward," Blinken said, noting that this could be done through Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, security guarantees from other countries and commitments.

In particular, he said, "I very much hope that the United States will remain an important supporter of Ukraine," adding, "Because this is not just a matter of Ukraine."

"Without U.S. diplomacy, many other countries will have diplomacy that will shape the world in a way that goes against U.S. interests and values," Blinken said of Trump's approach to pursuing diplomacy by force.

During his term in office, he said, "We were able to cope with China's challenges much more effectively through cooperation with other countries," adding, "When we took office, the European Union (EU) was about to sign a major trade agreement with China. They weren't sure if they could trust the U.S. and stressed that we had turned it around.

Regarding Trump's high-rate tariff policy, he pointed out, "I think it has strategic utility, but overall, it is the consumer who generally pays the price when imposing tariffs."