India, China expressing concern about Ukraine war reflective of global concerns, says Blinken

India and Chinese leaders expressing their concerns directly with the Russian leader about the war in Ukraine is reflective of global concerns about the effects of its aggression, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.

“What you’re hearing from China, from India, is reflective of concerns around the world about the effects of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine – not just on the people of Ukraine, devastating as that’s been, but on countries and people across the entire planet,” Mr. Blinken told reporters at a joint media availability with the Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

“It’s an aggression not just against Ukraine and its people, it’s an aggression against the very principles of international relations that help keep peace and security,” he said. He was responding to a question on leaders of China and India expressing their concern about the war in Ukraine directly to Vladimir Putin.

“Do you see this as a significant shift for Russia on the international stage?” he was asked.

Mr. Blinken argued that the United Nations Charter should be front and centre. “The number one violator of the charter right now is Russia. So there are real concerns that, I think, are being heard from countries around the world about that, and, of course, all of the impacts that this is having, including, for example, on food insecurity,” he said.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of focus in recent months in trying to address the challenges to food security that have been exacerbated dramatically by Russia’s aggression. We already had Covid, we already had climate change that were having profound effects on food insecurity. Add to that conflict, we now have well over 200 million people who are severely food insecure,” Mr. Blinken said.

“This is something that leaders in countries around the world are feeling, because their people are feeling it. And so I think what you’re seeing is just a manifestation of the fact that this aggression has been an aggression against the interests of people across the planet, and I think it increases the pressure on Russia to end the aggression,” Mr. Blinken said.