Derek Chollet, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that as Russia enters its third month of occupation of Ukraine, there are not many signs that the negotiations between the parties are fruitful. Chollet told Voice of America (VOA) that Russia does not seem willing to negotiate in any meaningful way.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres traveled to Ukraine yesterday after meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, which lasted nearly two hours.
Chollet noted that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Guterres prior to his Moscow and Kyiv visits, and is eagerly awaiting the news from Guterres on whether the US sees a way to peace.
On the other hand, a bill examining China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday. If the proposal becomes law, the (Chinese President) “Assess Xi’s Intervention and Destruction” law will require the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit reports on Beijing’s relations with Moscow before and after the invasion.
However, American officials have not yet witnessed that China provides weapons or supplies to Russia; He says they are monitoring the situation closely.
“China will pay a price if it’s seen as helping Russia, whether it’s directly specifically providing military aid or helping Russia evade sanctions,” Chollet told VOA.
The official, who warned that the distance of cooperation between the USA and China is narrowing, noted that Blinken will also touch on this issue in the coming days.
VOA: President Biden has announced a proposal to hold the Russian oligarchs to account. He also asked Congress for additional funding to help Ukraine. What makes this description different from the others?
Chollet: This is a historic statement of support from the USA. President Biden has asked Congress for $30 billion in US aid for Ukraine. 20 million of this will be allocated to security and defense support. Then there will be humanitarian aid and economic support. This is another indication of the US commitment to a strong, secure and independent Ukraine.
VOA: Members of Congress also voted for the Defense of Ukraine Democracy 2022 Lending-Lease Act.
Chollet: What the US is currently focusing on is getting the President’s proposed additional assistance through Congress. The scale and scope of the $30 billion aid reflects our interest in a secure Ukraine. One of the things that mattered throughout the crisis was the nonpartisan support we saw in Congress. Congress is working closely with the administration in providing the important assistance we have received so far for Ukraine. However, if we still get the 30 billion dollars, we will have quadrupled the aid. We also believe that we will get this from Congress.
VOA: Does the US have an assessment of Putin’s health?
Chollet: No. We don’t have much personal contact with him these days. The decision-making process we evaluate has consequences. In our opinion, he made the wrong decision when starting this brutal war against Ukraine. We gave him every opportunity to make another choice over the months. But we also said very clearly that he and Russia would pay a great price if he declared war on Ukraine.
VOA: Did the US meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after meeting with Putin?
Chollet: We were in close contact with the UN Secretary-General throughout the crisis. Minister Blinken (Guterres) had the opportunity to meet with him before going to Moscow and Ukraine. The minister has not yet met with him afterwards; I’m not sure if our colleagues have spoken. But we will of course continue to keep in touch with the Secretary-General to receive information on his travels and to see if there is a path to peace. We have yet to see much hope that the negotiations are fruitful. The Russians do not seem willing to negotiate meaningfully.
VOA: Could China be subject to secondary sanctions if it provides material aid or financial support to Russia?
Chollet: The US position is very clear on this. President Biden, in his meetings with President Xi Jinping, and Minister Blinken in his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, made it clear that if China helps Russia, whether it is direct support or military aid, it will pay a price.
China knows very well the economic consequences it will face if it helps Russia. China itself is suffering from the sanctions imposed on Russia. That’s why we hope China decides not to support Russia.
VOA: Will Minister Blinken’s China statement be before or after the US-ASEAN summit?
Chollet: I don’t want to get in the way of the Minister’s speech. Of course, China attaches great importance to our strategy. We look forward to talking about this in the coming weeks.
VOA: What is the US approach to China? Can the two countries work together after Russia’s Ukraine war?
Chollet: US-China relations are very complex relations. Some elements are in dispute. It is clear that the United States and China have fundamentally conflicting issues. Some areas of this relationship are based on competition. The US welcomes competition with China as long as we play by the same rules. Some areas of this relationship have to be collaborative. For example, climate change. If the US and China cannot find a way to work together on this issue, we will not be able to interfere with the consequences of climate warming. Unfortunately, this is a shrinking area in terms of cooperation.
VOA: What is the US ASEAN move on Ukraine as Washington prepares to host a special summit with ASEAN in May?
Chollet: This ASEAN summit will be a historic one. For the first time, ASEAN leaders will meet here in Washington, making it the largest meeting of leaders since pre-pandemic. Our attitude towards our allies and friends in ASEAN is the same as we treat all our allies and friends around the world; There is a clear side to what Russia is doing in Ukraine that we should all take. We want our friends in ASEAN to take our side in isolating and punishing Russia.
VOA: What about the military exercise that Russian state television reported was between Vietnam and Russia?
Chollet: I can’t comment on this exercise specifically. I was in Hanoi a few weeks ago. I had a long conversation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense about US-Vietnamese relations. We think this relationship has great potential. We also discussed our legitimate concerns about Russia and how to establish relations with Moscow.
What we tell our Vietnamese friends and think they agree with is that Russia is a less attractive partner now than it was four months ago. Russia will be more isolated in the world. Its economy will be destroyed. Frankly, his army has also shown that it is in a vulnerable position.
In other words, if you are in a country like Vietnam, we are aware that some of the policy changes we want cannot happen all at once, since you have been in relations with Russia for decades and before that with the Soviet Union. However, we still think that these countries should reevaluate their relations with Russia. We are willing to partner with them as they consider their future security situation.
VOA: Myanmar’s military government also supports Russia. Speaking of which, is there any news about the verdict against Aung San Suu Kyi?
Chollet: It was a staged trial. It is yet another example of the junta in Myanmar taking power illegally in February 2021 to use the judicial system to hunt down its political enemies. We need to see the end of violence in Myanmar. Democracy must be restored. The US will not come into contact with the junta regime until it sees this happen. Junta representatives will not attend the ASEAN special summit in Washington.
Myanmar will be represented on a non-political level, as at previous ASEAN summits. The junta in Myanmar knows what to do. It must abide by ASEAN’s five-point agreement and return Myanmar to the path of democracy, not using the judicial system to make false accusations against democratically elected leaders like Aung San Suu Kyi.