The United States formally acknowledges that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine. Report Ft
The United States accused Russia of war crimes as Biden traveled to Europe to meet with NATO and G7 leaders in Brussels, from where he also reiterated an important message to China.
The United States said it formally ruled that the Russian military committed war crimes in Ukraine, citing "indiscriminate attacks that deliberately targeted civilians" carried out during Vladimir Putin's invasion among the atrocities, writes the Financial . Times .
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the Biden administration made the assessment based on a "careful review" of information from public and intelligence sources. He added that it would be up to a court to determine "guilt in specific cases".
Blinken pointed out in particular the attack on the Mariupol theater, where the presence of children was clearly indicated with block letters in Russian, as well as the attack on the maternity ward of a hospital in which a pregnant woman was killed. and her baby. Blinken added that the United States will continue to collect information on the attacks and share it with allies and international institutions.
The US made its formal assessment a week after President Joe Biden called Putin a "war criminal" in his most outspoken rebuke to the Russian president.
The war crimes allegation came as Biden traveled to Europe to meet with NATO and G7 leaders in Brussels to discuss the Allied response to the war.
The United States is pressuring Europe to join in warning China not to provide military assistance to Russia or help Moscow evade sanctions, as the West's approach to Beijing emerges as an area of crucial attention. during Biden's upcoming talks with European leaders.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One before the president's arrival in Brussels, Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, said Washington saw no evidence of Beijing's military aid to Russia. The United States hopes to be able to agree a position with European allies vis-à-vis Beijing ahead of an EU summit with China next week.
"We have sent a clear message to China about the implications and consequences of any supply of military equipment," Sullivan said. "We expect [European leaders] to convey similar messages in their relations at the highest levels with the Chinese government."
"The same thing – he added – applies to the systematic efforts to undermine, weaken or circumvent the sanctions regime we have put in place".
Biden's National Security Advisor also noted that the G7 sanctions enforcement initiative, which aims to curb the violation of sanctions, will apply to China in the same way it applies to "any significant economy." .
US and EU officials said fighting sanction evasion and loopholes in existing measures will likely be the main focus of any joint action this week. However, Sullivan added that the United States would announce a new individual sanctions package against other Russian officials and oligarchs.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the United States, added that China opposes sanctions against Russia and supports dialogue.
"The sanctions only exacerbate the tensions," he said. "Radical and indiscriminate sanctions will only make people suffer".
The US is not pressuring the EU to follow it in banning Russian energy imports, but it is expected to agree on a common strategy to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas.
Sullivan said the US will look for ways to "increase" supplies of liquefied natural gas to Europe, "not just over the years, but over the months as well." The ability to do so "will grow over time," he added.
Biden's trip comes as Ukrainian forces gained some momentum around Kiev and pushed Russian forces back in some areas, according to a senior US defense official.
Russian troops are now positioned about 55km east and north-east of Kiev, having been around 30km apart in recent days.
(Extract from the foreign press review by eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/gli-stati-uniti-riconoscono-formalmente-che-la-russia-ha-commesso-crimini-di-guerra-in-ucraina-report-ft/ on Sat, 26 Mar 2022 06:46:50 +0000.