Ukraine War: Antony Blinken rejects "territorial concessions", negotiations at this point, and any ceasefire which would freeze the conflict; Ukraine's right to strike targets in Russia

Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in International Law, Harvard University

Adapted from The Trenchant Observer, June 2, 2023

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in an eloquent speech in Helsinki on June 2, 2023,¹ laid out U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia rejecting negotiations at this point, and ruling out “territorial concessions” and any ceasefire which would freeze the conflict.

The speech deserves to be read in its entirety.²

Missy Ryan of the Washington Post reported on significant aspects of the speech, as follows;³

Amid growing calls for a mediated peace from nations such as China and Brazil, Blinken also laid out principles for what he termed “a just and lasting peace.” Among those principles, he said, are Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Russian reparations and accountability for war crimes.

He rebuffed calls for cease-fires or concessions of Ukrainian land in any “land for peace” formulas, prospects he said would represent a “Potemkin peace.”

“A cease-fire that simply freezes current lines in place — and enables Putin to consolidate control over the territory he has seized, and rest, rearm, and re-attack — is not a just and lasting peace,” Blinken said. “It would legitimize Russia’s land grab. It would reward the aggressor and punish the victim.”

With these pronouncements, Blinken brought U.S. policy into much closer alignment with the terms of the U.N. General Assembly Resolution of February 23, 2023 on the requirements for a just and lasting peace.⁴

In another significant development last week, British foreign secretary James Cleverly declared that Ukraine has the right to strike targets in Russia in exercise of its right of self-defense under international law.⁵ Germany has also publicly supported this position.

The U.S. and some other NATO countries have taken the position that weapons supplied by them may not be used to attack targets in Russia,⁶ in effect greatly limiting Ukraine’s ability to hit targets from which missile and drone attacks are being launched against its cities and civilian infrastructure.⁷

1. Antony Blinken, “Speech by Secretary Blinken: “Russia’s Strategic Failure and Ukraine’s Secure Future,” Helsinki, June 2, 2023, U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Russia, June 2, 2023. (full text of speech).

2. See note 1 above for link to full text of speech.

3. Missy Ryan, “U.S. rebuffs cease-fire calls in its strategy for Ukraine resilience,” Washington Post, June 2, 2023 (updated at 10:01 a.m.EDT);

4. See “UPDATED--THE WAR TO SAVE THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER, AND UKRAINE: General Assembly Resolution A/ES-11/L.7 (February 23, 2023). Text of Resolution, with links to video of G.A and S.C. debates),” Trenchant Observations, March 7, 2023.

5. See “Attacks on targets in Russia; U.K. breaks ranks with U.S.,” Trenchant Observations, May 31, 2023.

6. See “President Biden, NATO, do something! It is obscene to stand by and do nothing to stop Putin as he pummels Ukraine,” Trenchant Observations, January 5, 2023.

7. See “Ukraine, Belgorod, and the right of self-defense under International Law and the United Nations Charter,” Trenchant Observations, May 24, 2023.***

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See also “Why I care about the war in Ukraine,” Trenchant Observations, June 26, 2023.