Blinken: Russia’s Military Cooperation with Iran, North Korea, China Must Be Stopped

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is convinced that to promote peace in Ukraine, it is necessary to stop the attempts of Iran, North Korea, and China to fuel aggression, as well as to support Ukraine’s peace initiatives.

Blinken stated this during his speech at the UN Security Council meeting on September 24 dedicated to the situation in Ukraine.

“There are two immediate and interrelated steps that we must take. First, we must address Russia’s growing cooperation with North Korea and Iran.”

The U.S. Secretary of State reminded that Iran supplies drones to Russia and has built a drone manufacturing plant in Russia, and just a few weeks ago Teheran “transferred hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.” Meanwhile, North Korea is delivering trains with weapons and ammunition to Russia, including missile launchers and millions of artillery shells.

“These actions by Iran, North Korea, and Russia have violated multiple Security Council resolutions – resolutions that Russia voted for, and as a permanent member, has a special responsibility to enforce.”

Blinken also emphasized that this is a two-way street, and North Korea, along with Iran, is receiving assistance from Russia to circumvent sanctions and further destabilize the situation in their regions.

“North Korea and Iran are not the only ones aiding and abetting Russia. China, another permanent member of this council, is the top provider of machine tools, microelectronics, and other items that Russia is using to rebuild, to restock, to ramp up its war machine and sustain its brutal aggression.”

“There is a profound difference. Russia is the aggressor; Ukraine, the victim. Russia fights for conquests.  Ukraine fights for survival. If countries stopped supporting Russia, Putin’s invasion would soon come to an end. If countries stopped supporting Ukraine, Ukraine could soon come to an end.”

In this regard, Blinken emphasized that the second step that members of the UN Security Council can take is to support Ukraine’s initiatives for a just and sustainable peace.

“Ukraine has said multiple times that diplomacy is the only way to end this war – and that it’s prepared to engage in negotiations. Putin, on the other hand, has no interest in such a peace – recently declaring that Russia would return to the negotiating table only when Ukraine withdraws its troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya; in other words, when Ukraine withdraws from its own territory.”

Blinken ended his speech with a call to “stop those who are enabling and fueling Putin’s aggression and demand a just peace that upholds the principles of the United Nations Charter.”