Sec. of State Antony Blinken Reacts to Russia’s Preparations for War

On Ukraine’s border, there are more than 100,000 Russian troops prepared to invade at any given time. President Biden had a
conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week that did not go well. The United
States is proposing to add significant sanctions on Russia, and President Putin has threatened a
breach in the relationship in the event of new sanctions. There are bilateral talks happening
today dealing with these issues.

ACLJ Senior Military Analyst Wes Smith laid out Putin’s goal:

"Putin made the statement recently repeated from a previous year, “The greatest
geopolitical catastrophe of the 20 th century was the fall of the Soviet Union.” His
goal is to try to restore some of the greatness that he perceived back then so his
motive is, I can go back and be the strong man and restore the old Soviet-era
kind of empire for Russia. I think that is part of his goal."

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who was a principal negotiator for the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal, is leading the United States in
negotiations with Russia today. Referring to this conversation, Sec. Sherman said:
"Today was discussion, a better understanding of each other and each other’s
priorities. It was not what we would call a negotiation."

ACLJ Director of Government Affairs Thann Bennett pointed out how it’s the same people with
the same failed strategy going into these negotiations:

"I actually think this is where the conversation needs to start when you are talking
about diplomacy from the United States. Wendy Sherman is not a stranger to
any of us. . . . So, we know what we are going to get from her. She’s been
involved in these high-stakes negotiations before. My concern and the concerns
I’m hearing from many on Capitol Hill is when you send the same people, with
the same strategy, you’re going to get the same result. . . . This is someone who
is a hard-Left activist. . . . So, I think the concern is even if you have maybe room
for differences of opinion in how these negotiations should look, I think leading
with Wendy Sherman is a cause for concern. Those meetings started last night;
they are continuing today. But I think it’s probably the worst way to put a strong
foot forward."

When Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked what sanctions the U.S. is willing to impose,
he responded:

"Well, first, when it comes to consequences, it’s not just us who has been saying
this. The G7, the leading democratic economies in the world, made clear there
would be massive consequences for renewed Russian aggression."