US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference with Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics at the National Art Museum in Riga, Latvia, Monday March 7, 2022. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a lightning visit to the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as they watch Russia press ahead with its invasion of Ukraine. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the U.S. is prepared to come to the defense of any NATO member nation if they are attacked. While speaking at a joint press conference in Lithuania with the nations foreign minister Monday, he stated an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all.
Blinken added, no one should doubt the readiness or resolve of the U.S. and pointed out the country is engaged with NATO allies about defense posture, including extending troop deployments in Baltic Nations. He also spoke about the impact of sanctions on Russia amid concerns it may expand it’s ongoing assault beyond Ukraine’s borders.
“We see Russia’s credit rating coming basically to zero, to junk status as we would call it,” said the U.S. Secretary of State. “We see its stock market shut down, we see an exodus of virtually every leading company from Russia. All of those things are happening, they’re happening in real time. At the same time other steps that we’ve taken, including export controls on the most important technology that Russia needs to modernize for the future, including its defense and aerospace industries, including its energy sector, that technology is being denied to Russia, that’s going to have a powerful impact over time.”
Spoke with Latvian Prime Minister @krisjaniskarins today to discuss continued humanitarian and security assistance for Ukraine in the face of Putin’s unjustified war against Ukraine. Latvia has shown tremendous courage in standing up for Ukraine and its people. pic.twitter.com/539cqRmM0C
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 7, 2022
This comes as the U.S. has deployed thousands of additional troops to Poland and other nations in recent weeks. Additionally, the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to approve billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine as it considers taking further action against Russia’s economy.
In a letter to members of the Democrat caucus Sunday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress intends to act on the Biden administration’s request for $10 billion in humanitarian, military and economic support for Ukraine. She also said the House is “currently exploring strong legislation that will further isolate Russia from the global economy.”
The bill would ban Russian oil and energy imports, terminate normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus as well as take the first step to deny Russia access to the World Trade Organization.
Source: One America News Network
