The biden administrations plans to help with ukraine. [applause] blinken thank you. I feel a greater sense of happiness today that i have in time. Thank you for hosting us in helsinki and in this magnificent city hall. And also to your entire team and all the researchers of the institute of National Affairs for deepening the scholarship about diplomacy and enriching the debate. I am gratified that my friend and partner is here with us today. We have worked so closely together over this past truly historic year and im grateful for your presence. To all distinguished guests, two months ago, i submit with our allies in brussels as finlands flag was raised over nato headquarters for the first time. The president declared that the era of military alignment has come to an end. A new era begins. It was a change that would have been unthinkable a little more than a year earlier. Before russias fullscale invasion of ukraine, one in four citizens supported joining nato. After the invasion, three in four citizens supported joining. It was not hard for citizens to imagine themselves in finland in ukraines shoes. Like president putins socalled special operation against ukraine, ussrs liberation operation falsely accuse finland of provoking the invasion. Like the russians with kyiv, the soviets were confident they would cite helsinki in weeks. So confident that they had someone compose music for the victory parade before the winter war even started. Like president putin in ukraine, when stalin failed to overcome their resistance, he shifted to a strategy of terror. Incinerating entire villages and bombing so many hospitals from the air that they started covering the red cross insignia on the rooftops. Like millions of ukrainian refugees today, hundreds of thousands of fins were driven from the southern the soviet union their nation. It includes the mother and father of our host, the mayor of the city. The parallels between 1939 and 2022 were striking, this, and not wrong. It seems understood that if russia violated the Core Principles of the charter, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence, in ukraine, it would imperil their own peace and security as well. We understood that too. Over the course of 2021, as russia ratcheted up threats against kyiv and amassed more and more troops, tanks, and planes on ukraines border, we made every effort to get through the crisis and resolve its issues through diplomacy. President biden toward told president putin that we were prepared to discuss our mutual security concerns. In message i reaffirm repeatedly, in person with minister lavrov. We also had proposals to stop tensions. Our allies and partners, we used every form to try to prevent war from the nato and russian counsel, to the u. N. And our direct channels. Across these engagements, we sent out two possible paths for moscow. A path of diplomacy that could lead to greater security for ukraine, russia, and all of europe. Or a path of aggression which would result in severe consequences for the russian government. President biden made it clear that regardless of which path president putin chose, we would be ready. If russia throws war, chose war, we would support ukraine, and posted your costs on russia, and strengthen nato, while rallying our allies and partners around the goals. As the storm clouds gathered, research the military, economic and humanitarian assistance to ukraine. First in august 2021 and again in december. We sell weapons to bolster ukraines defenses and deployed a team to help ukraine short of its our great and other Critical Infrastructure against Cyber Attacks. You prepared an unprecedented set of sanctions, export controls, and other economic costs in the event of a fullscale invasion. We took steps to leave no doubt that we and our allies would uphold our commitment to defend every inch of nato territory. We worked relentlessly to rally allies and partners to help ukraine defend itself and deny president putin his strategic aims. On day one of this since day one of this administration, people have focused on revitalizing his partnerships, knowing we are stronger when we work along those who share our interests and values. In the runup to russias invasion, we demonstrated the power of those partnerships. Coordinating our strategy for a potential invasion of nato, eu, g7 and other allies around the world. Over those fateful weeks in january and february 2022, it became clear that no amount of diplomatic effort was going to change peoples mind. He would choose war. So come on february 17, 2022, i went before the United Nations Security Council to warn the world that russias fullscale invasion of ukraine was evident. I sent out the steps russia would take. First, manufacturing a pretext, then using missiles, tanks, troops and Cyber Attacks to identify targets including kyiv with the aim of toppling ukraines democratic government and erasing it from the map as an independent country. We hoped to be proven wrong. Unfortunately, we were right. A week after my warning to the Security Council, president putin invaded. Ukrainians of all walks of life, soldiers and citizens, men and women, young and old, bravely defended their nation. The u. S. Moved swiftly, decisively, and in unison with allies and partners to do exactly what we said we would do, support ukraine, impose costs on russia, strengthen nato. All of this with our allies and partners. With every collective support, ukraine did but it said it would do. Defended its territory, its independence, its democracy. Today, what i want to do is set out this and the many other ways that peoples war of aggression against ukraine has an aphid failure has been a strategic failure. I will also share our vision of the path to a just and lasting peace. When you look at president putins longterm aims and objectives, there is no question that russia is significantly worse off today than before its fullscale invasion of ukraine. Militarily, economically and geopolitically. Where he wanted strength, he showed weakness. Where he sought to divide, united. This outcome is no accident. It is the direct result of the herd and solidarity of the radiant people and deliberate the ukrainian people, and deliberate and swift action us and our partners have taken to defend ukraine. For years, president putin sought to weaken and divide nato under the false claim that it posed a threat to russia. Before russia invaded crimea and Eastern Ukraine in 2014, natos pasta reflected a shared conviction that conflict in europe was unlikely. The u. S. Significantly reduce his forces in europe since the cold war. Down to 60 1000 at the end of 2019. European countries in our defense had been declining for years. Natos strategic doctrine at the time labeled russia a partner. Following russias invasion of crimea and the donbas region, allies committed to sending spending 2 of gdp on defense and sending new forces to natos eastern flank in response to russias aggression. The alliance accelerated this transformation since russias invasion. Not to pose a threat or because natos these conflict. Nato always have been and always will be a defensive alliance. Lets russias aggression, threats, Nuclear Saber rattling, compelled us to reinforce our defense. Hours after the fullscale invasion, we have lamented we implemented natos defense force. Several allies including the u. K. , germany, russells, spain and france sent ships to reinforce natos eastern flank. And double the number of battle groups in the region. The u. S. Established its First Permanent military presence in poland and nato added finland as its 31st allied and we will soon add sweden as the 32nd. As we head to the nato summit, our shirt messes will be clear. Nato allies are committed to enhance deterrence and defense, greater and smarter defense venting, to be tied to specific partners. Natos doors open remain open to future members and will stay open. Russias invasion also led the European Union to do more and work with the u. S. And nato more than ever before. The u. S. And its allies have provided over 75 billion in economic assistance to ukraine. From air Defense Systems to tanks and ammunition. Coordinating closely with the u. S. , the u. K. And other partners, the u. S. Launched his most ambitious sanctions ever. And european nations have taken in more than 8 million ukrainian refugees. Most of whom have not only been granted access to Public Services but also the right to work, to study. Second, for decades, bosco works to deepen europes dependence on russian oil and gas. Since people fullscale invasion, europe made a since putins full skill invasion, europe made a swift change. Before he puts clintons invasion, your imported a lot of its gas. They cut that in half in less than a year. In 2022, they generated 1 5 of their electricity through wind and solar power. More than coal, gas or any other power source. The u. S. More than doubled our supply of gas to europe. Our asian allies also stepped up to boost europes supply. The oil price gap that we and our g7 partners put in place have kept oils Russias Energy in the gloom markets while dramatically cutting their revenue. A year later, russias oil revenues have fallen 43 . Russias tax revenues from oil and gas have fallen by nearly two thirds. Russia will not give back the markets it has lost in europe. Third, president putin spent two decades trying to build russias military into a modern force with cutting edge military, streamlined command and welltrained soldiers. The criminal often claimed it had the second Strongest Military in the world and many believed it. Today, many see russias literary as the second strongest in ukraine. As equipments, leadership, and morale are a failure. Russia is estimated to have suffered more than 100,000 casualties in the last six months alone as putin sends wave after wave of russians into a meatgrinder of his own making. Meanwhile, sanctions and export controls imposed by the u. S. , the eu and others have degraded russias exports, setting them back for years to come. Russias Global Defense partners and award cannot count on or spare parts. As they witnessed russias poor performance are the battlefield, on the battlefield, they are taking their business elsewhere. President putin wanted to build russia as an economic power. He failed to fully integrate the country into the global economy. Today, russias economy is a shadow of what it was a fraction of what it could become had president putin invested in weapons of innovation rather than weapons of war. Russias profits are down by more than half from its owned enterprises. More than 1700 Foreign Companies have reduced, suspended or ended operations in russia since the onset of the invasion. That is tens of thousands of jobs gone. A massive flight of foreign expertise and billions of dollars in lost revenue for the kremlin. A Million People have fled russia including many of the top i. T. Specialists, entrepreneurs, engineers, doctors, professors, journalists, scientists, countless artists, phone makers and musicians, have also left. Seeing no future for themselves in a country where they cannot express themselves freely. President putin invested considerable effort to so russia could be an invaluable partner to china. On the even the invasion, beijing and moscow declared a no holds barred partnership. 18 months into the invasion, the partnership seems more onesided. It has served as a wakeup call around the world. Together, the u. S. And our partners are taking steps to reduce the vulnerabilities, from building more resilient, critical supply chains to strengthening our economy. Russias aggression has not distracted us from meeting challenges in the indopacific, but actually focused sharpen our focus on them. We were in ukraine has not hampered our ability to force focus on threats from anywhere else but sharpened it. Prior to the war, president putin regularly use russias influence in International Organizations to try to weaken the u. N. Charter. Today, russia is more isolated on the world stage than ever. At least 140 nations, two thirds of other states, have voted to affirm ukraines sovereignty and virtual integrity, to reject russias attempts to legally annex ukrainian territory, to condemn russias atrocities, and to call for ap spain with the principal for peace. Russia has been voted to be suspended from the uns human rights council. Russian candidates have lost one election after another for kesey in international ocean. From the governor board of unicef to leadership of the Agency Responsible for information and communication technology. Each review and loss for moscow is not only a vote against russias aggression but a vote for the Core Principles of the United Nations charter. Countries from every part of the world are supporting efforts to hold russia accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity. From getting a special u. N. Commission to document the crimes and Human Rights Violations in the war, to a special investigation in ukraine and with the International Criminal court. President putin for years sought to divide the rest from the west , claiming that russia was in the best interest of the available the developing world. Today, thanks to weaponizing, president putin has diminished russian influence on every continent. His efforts to reconstitute a centuries old empires reminded every nation that endured colonial rule and repression of their own. Then he exacerbated the Economic Hardship Many Americans many people were already experiencing by cutting off ukraines grain from the world markets, driving up costs of food and grain everywhere. The United States and our partners have proven our focus on ukraine will not distract us from working to improve the lives of people around the world and addressing the sustaining cost of russias ingress aggression. Our food aid has prevented millions of people from starving to death. Just last year, the u. S. Provided 13. 5 billion. The u. S. Is currently funding over half of the u. N. World food programs budget. Russia funds less than 1 . We supported a deal by the u. S. Of turkiye on ukrainian grain, allowing 29 million grains of food and county to get out of ukraine into people around the world. That includes 8 million tons of wheat which is the equivalent of 16 billion loaves of red. With allies and partners, we are mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars in financing for infrastructure in countries that need it most. Building it in a way that is transparent, good for the environment, and powers local communities and workers. We are training half a Million Health professionals in the americas to helping the Pharmaceutical Company moderna to finalize plans to finalize plans to build the first mrna manufacturing facility in africa. Time and again, we are demonstrating who fuels mobile problems and who solves them. Finally, president putins obsession has been to erase the very idea of ukraine. His identity its identity, its people, its culture, its agency, its territory. But here, too, president putins actions have facilitated the opposite effect. No one has done more than the man who sought to wipe it out. No one has done board to deepen cranes unity and ukraines unity and solidarity. No one has done more to help them write their future on their own terms. Ukraine will never be russian. Ukraine stance sovereign, independent, from the control of its own destiny. In president clintons primary goal, he has failed most spectacularly putins primary goal, he has failed most spectacularly. President putin says that nato or other countries defending ukraine are sent on tumbling russias government or holding back their people. That is false. We do not seek to overthrow the russian government and never have. Russias future is for russia to decide. We have no quarrel with the russian people who had no say in starting this tragic war. We lament that putin is sending tens of thousands of russians to their death in a war he could and now if you chose. He hasnt ruined the impact on russias economy and its prospects. It must be asked, how has president clintons war improve the lives, livelihoods, or prospects president putins war improved the lives, livelihoods, or prospects of russians citizens russias citizens. We stand for the International Rules and principles threatened by president putins ongoing war. Let me say directly to the russian people, United States is not your enemy. The peaceful end of the cold war , we shared the hope that russia would emerge to a brighter future, free and open, fully integrated with the world. For more than 30 years, we have worked to pursue stable cooperations with moscow because we believe a peaceful, secure, and prosperous russia is in americas interest and the interest of the world. We still believe that today. We cannot choose your future for you and we will not try to do so. But we also will not let president putin impose his will on other nations. Moscow must treat the independents, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of its neighbors with the same respect it demands for russia. I made clear by virtually every measure that president putin invasion of ukraine has been a strategic failure. Bounty has failed to achieve his aims, he has not while he has failed to achieve his aims, he will not give up. He continues to send more russians to their deaths, inflicting more suffering on ukrainian civilians. He thinks that even if he loses the short game, he can still win the long game. Putin is wrong about this too. The u. S. , with our allies and partners, is firmly committed to supporting ukraines defense, today, tomorrow, for as long as it takes. In america, this support is bipartisan. Precisely because we have no illusions about putins aspirations, we believe the key to diplomacy and real peace is a stronger ukraine, capable of defending against any future aggression. We have rallied a team around this. With secretary austens leadership, more than 50 countries are helping. We are leading by the power of example, providing tens of billions of dollars for Security Assistance to ukraine with robust support for both sides of the aisle of congress. Today, americans are allies and partners are helping me ukraines needs on the battlefield while developing a force that can deter and defend against aggression for years to come. This means helping build the Ukrainian Military of the future with longterm funding, a strong air force centered on water combines aircraft, an integrated missiledefense network. A National Capacity to produce ammunition, and training and support forces and equipment combat ready. This means ukraines membership in nato will be a matter for allies and ukraine, not russia, to decide. The path to peace will be forced not only through ukraines longterm military strength, but also the strength of his economy and democracy. This is at the heart of our vision going forward. Ukraine must only survive but thrive. Ukraine needs a vibrant, prosperous democracy within its borders. This is the path ukrainian people voted for when they won their independence in 1991. The twins they defended in 2004 and again in 2013, a free and open society with up to the rights of human law, fully integrated, where all ukrainians have dignity and opportunity to realize their potential. Where the government response to its needs of its people, not those in elites. We are committed to help ukrainians make our vision and reality their vision a reality. Where ukrainians can reimagine their economy with new industries, trade routes, supply chains, connected with europe and markets around the world. He will continue to bolster ukraines anticorruption values, a civil press, and others. We will help overhaul its industry grant which has been destroyed by russia. In a way that is cleaner, more resilient, more integrated with its neighbors so ukraine can one day become an energy supporter. Ukraines greater integration with europe is vital to all of this. They took a giant step last june when europe formally granted ukraine status. Investing in ukraines strength is not at the expense of diplomacy, it paves the way for diplomacy. President zelenskyy said repeatedly that diplomacy is the only way to end this war and we agreed. In december, he put forward a vision for lasting peace. Instead of engaging on that, president putin said there is nothing to talk about until ukraine accepts new territorial realities guest new territorial realities. Day after day, russia rains down missiles and drones on ukrainian apartment buildings, schools, hospitals. From a distance, it is easy to become numb to these and other russian atrocities, like the drone strike last week on a clinic which killed four people including doctors. Where the 17 strikes on kyiv in the month of may alone, many using hypersonic missiles. Or a missile attack in april on a city hundreds of miles from the front lines in which 23 civilians were killed. The rocket strike hit multiple apartment buildings. In one of those buildings, a father raised to the room where his children were sleeping. One age 17, sylvia age 11. When he opened the board the door to their bedroom, there was no room. This fire and smoke. His children were gone. Two more innocent lives extinguished. Two of the people russia killed in a single strike. Two more of the thousands they were killed that were killed by russias aggression. More that were wounded into thousands that had been adopted abducted from their families. All part of a generation of ukrainian children that were terrorized, traumatized, scarred by putins war of aggression. All of whom remind us why ukrainians are so fiercely committed to defending their nation, and why they deserve a just and lasting peace. Some argued that if the u. S. Truly wanted peace, we would stop supporting ukraine and that if ukraine wanted to end the war, they would cut their losses and give of a fifth of its territory that russia legally occupies. Lets play this out. What neighbors of russia would feel confident in their own sovereignty and territorial integrity if peoples putins efforts were rewarded with a fifth of territory. How would any country feel six were within its own borders . What lesson with other aggressors around the world learn lessons with other aggressors around the world learn . How often in history have aggressors who have seized all or part of a neighboring country been satisfied and stopped there . When has this ever satisfied Vladimir Putin . The United States has been working with ukraine and allies and partners around the world to build consensus around the four elements of a just and lasting peace. To be clear, the u. S. Welcomes any initiative that helps bring putin to the table to engage in meaningful diplomacy. It will support efforts whether by brazil, china, or another nation if they will help find a way for a lasting peace consistent with the u. N. Charter. A just and lasting peace must uphold the u. N. Charter and uphold principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Nothing about ukraine without ukraine. It must support ukraines reconstruction and recovery with russia paying its share. A just and lasting peace must address accountability and reconciliation. It can open a pathway to sanctions release, connected to concrete actions, especially military withdrawal. It must end russias war of aggression. Over the coming weeks and months, some countries will call for a ceasefire. On the surface, this sounds sensible, attractive even. After all, who does not want to warring parties to lay down their arms . Who does not want the killing to stop . But a ceasefire that simply freezes current lines in place and enables Vladimir Putin to consolidate control over territory vcs and rearm in reattack he sees and rearm and reattack will punish the victim. If ukraine is ready, as russia is ready to talk, the u. S. Will respond in conversation with ukraine and other allies. It will promote stability and transparency and reduce the likelihood of future conflict. In the weeks and months ahead, the u. S. Will continue to work with ukraine and our allies and partners and any and all parties dedicated to supporting a just and lasting peaceon april 4, 19l members of the alliance of nato gathered to sign the treaty. President truman warned the group, we cannot succeed if our people are haunted by the constant fear of aggression. We hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression, which will permit us to get on with the real business of achieving a fuller life for all of her citizens. The same is true today. No nation can deliver for its people if it leads in constant fear. That is why we all have a stake in ensuring that the war of aggression in ukraine continues to be a strategic failure. In his new years address, finlands president said as leaders of a country under authoritarian rule, they fail to recognize that people live and in a free country have their own will and convictions and that a nation that works together constitutes an immense force. They have a word for that. They recognize it in the struggle of the ukrainians today. One a free people like the ukrainians have the support of free nations around the world, nations who recognize their freedoms and rights, the force they possess is unstoppable. Thank you very much. [applause] with emily, Antony Blinken covers u. S. Israel relations during a speech at the american israel policy summit. Live coverage at 9 00 eastern on cspan two, cspan now, our mobile video app or online at cspan. Org. Listening to programs on cspan or cspan radio just got easier. Tell your Smart Speaker play cspan radio app listen to washington journal daily at 7 00 a. M. Eastern, imported congressional hearings and other affairs throughout the day, and weekdays at 5 00 and 9 00 cash flush catch washington today. This into cspan anytime just tell your cspan Smart Speaker to play cspan radio. Powered by cable. President biden addresses the nation for the oval office for the first time
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