Blinken, G-7 warn Vlad: Stay out of Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Group of Seven economic powers agree that Russian President Vladimir Putin would face “massive consequences” if he invades neighboring Ukraine.

Blinken met with his G-7 counterparts over the weekend in Liverpool, England, about Moscow’s enormous military buildup on Ukraine’s eastern border.

“They are equally resolute in their determination to stand against Russian aggression . . . And we’ve made clear as well that there would be massive consequences if Russia commits renewed acts of aggression against Ukraine,” Blinken said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

Blinken said the Biden administration seeks to have a “stable, predictable relationship” with Russia, but if Putin continues his aggressive behavior toward Ukraine, the US and its allies around the world will respond.

“I think what people need to understand is that Ukraine is important and we are resolute in our commitment to its sovereignty, its territorial integrity,” Blinken said.

“But there is something even bigger at stake here, and it’s the basic rules of the road of the international system, rules that say that one country can’t change the borders of another by force one country can’t dictate to another country,” he said. “And if we let that go with impunity, then the entire system that . . . prevents war from breaking out is in danger.”

The G-7 members, joined by the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, also warned Russia.

“We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of any sovereign state to determine its own future,” the group said.

Russia has been hit with a wide array of sanctions for illegally annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, for interfering in US and other country’s elections and for harboring cybercriminals while they carry out global attacks on businesses and governments.