Blinken's Statements on Ukraine and Israel Lead to Geopolitical Controversy
Secretary Blinken holds a joint press availability with French Foreign Minister Séjourné | US Department Of State Livestream
Today, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken gave a press conference in Paris where he stated:
"It has been our human policy from day one when it comes to Ukraine to do everything possible to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. At the same time, we have neither supported nor enabled strikes by Ukraine outside of its territory."
Fact-checking Blinken's statements reveals important nuances.
Firstly, Ukraine has not engaged in bombing civilian infrastructure, unlike Russia. Instead, it has targeted critical facilities such as fuel export terminals, ports, and gunpowder factories essential to Russia's operations. However, due to delays in receiving necessary arm transfers from the United States, Ukraine has struggled to effectively defend itself against Russian advancements. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported capturing 400 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory this year.
"Since the start of the year, 403 square km... have come under our control," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, referring to advances in the Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions that Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022, despite not fully controlling them.
Secondly, Blinken highlighted America's longstanding commitment to Israel's security and arm transfers:
"With regard to arm transfers, I think it is very important to put this in its proper perspective to understand what we are talking about. First, we have a longstanding commitment to Israel security and to helping ensure its ability to defend itself".
These transfers enable Israel to defend itself against threats such as Hamas, a situation that adds controversy due to its occurrence on Palestinian territory. This issue also raises questions about the transparency of US foreign policy and whether geopolitical conflicts are being politicized, especially given the sensitivity of the US election season.
