'NATO didn't invade Ukraine, Russia did' -Blinken
After talks with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and before meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Blinken delivered a keynote speech at the Atlantik-Brücke (Atlantic Bridge) in Berlin, a non-profit association in support of German-American friendship.
The top U.S. diplomat has been on a mission to head off war, which will culminate on Friday with a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva. Blinken underlined in his speech that Ukraine wasn't the aggressor in the conflict with Russia.
"Ukraine is just trying to survive. No one should be surprised if Russia instigates a provocation or incident and then tries to use it to justify military intervention, hoping that by the time the world realises the ruse, it'll be too late," Blinken told the audience.
He also made clear that the conflict was bigger than a conflict between two states and bigger than between Russia and NATO.
"Russia says the problem is NATO. On its face that's absurd. NATO didn't invade Georgia, NATO didn't invade Ukraine, Russia did," said Blinken.
