The United States also sees no signs of progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, US State Department adviser Derek Scholle said in an interview with Voice of America.
A sign of Russia's interest in negotiations with Ukraine not visible
The United States sees little sign that Russia-Ukraine talks are “fruitful” as the war has been going on for three months, State Department adviser Derek Chollet said in an interview on Thursday. Voice of America.
“The Russian side probably does not want to hold serious talks ,” said a senior State Department spokesman.
Assistance to Ukraine will quadruple >
Derek Scholle also commented on President Biden's statements about helping Ukraine, which is suffering from Russian aggression. According to him, the United States is now focused on getting Congress to approve the additional aid just offered by the president and $ 30 billion This is the scale and volume of aid that will help achieve peace in Ukraine.
“In the coming weeks, we will quadruple aid if we receive from Congress this $ 30 billion, which we are confident,” he said. “Voice of America”.
Putin's health
Answering the question “GA” Regarding information about Putin's health, Cholet said the following:
“Currently, we rarely communicate with him in person. Therefore, we do not have an assessment of his health. However, we have an assessment of the consequences of the decisions he makes. We are convinced that he made the wrong decision by continuing this brutal war against Ukraine. We gave him every chance to choose another path for many months, but we also made it clear to him that Russia and he would personally pay a high price if he continued the war against Ukraine. ”
China's role in the war against Ukraine
According to Scholle, on Wednesday the House of Representatives passed a bill to conduct a thorough analysis of China's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, there is no evidence in the United States yet that China is supplying weapons and equipment to Russia, but U.S. officials say this is being closely monitored. “China will have to pay if it is spotted providing Russia's aid, whether direct aid – especially military aid – or aid to circumvent sanctions, “Scholle said.
A Voice of America spokesman warned that the “space for cooperation” between the United States and China was “shrinking” and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was instructed to develop a US approach to China in the coming days.
“The United States has made it very clear – President Biden in his talks with President Xi Jinping, Secretary of State Blinken in his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi – that China will pay the price if it is seen helping Russia, or direct aid – especially military – or assistance in circumventing sanctions. China is well aware of the economic consequences it could face if Russia considers it. China itself is suffering because of the sanctions we have imposed on Russia. Therefore, we hope that China will decide not to support Russia, “Scholle said.
According to him, relations between the United States and China are very difficult. They are elements of a conflict nature, there are areas in which even China is fundamentally divided. There are areas of this relationship that are competitive.
“The United States welcomes competition with China as long as we play by the same rules,” Scholle said. He also did not rule out the existence of mutual interests that involve cooperation. This is particularly true of climate change.
“Unfortunately, the space for cooperation is shrinking,” Scholle said.
Summit of the ASEAN countries in Washington will be historic
The interlocutor of the Voice of America noted the historical role of the forthcoming ASEAN summit to be held in May in Washington:
… Our appeal to ASEAN's allies and friends is the same appeal we address to all our allies and friends around the world: it is clear who we need to be on Russia's side in Ukraine. We want ASEAN friends to support our policy of isolating and punishing Russia.
Regarding reports of joint military exercises in Vietnam and Russia, Scholle said:
- I cannot comment on these teachings. I was in Hanoi a few weeks ago, had long conversations with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Vietnam about the relationship between the United States and Vietnam, which, in our opinion, has great potential, as well as our sincere concern for Russia and our future relationship. with her. Our opinion, which we have expressed to our Vietnamese friends and which, in my opinion, they have appreciated, is that Russia is a much less attractive partner today than it was four months ago. Russia will be more isolated in the world. Its economy will be destroyed. And frankly, its armed forces have shown their vulnerability . As countries such as Vietnam have maintained relations with Russia for decades, and before that with the Soviet Union, we understand that some of the policy changes we are asking for may not be immediate. However, we believe that these countries need to re-evaluate relations with Russia, and we are ready to be their partners in the process of understanding their security in the future.
Read also: India is being tested by the Russian-Ukrainian war .
