[The Epoch Times, March 18, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Isabel Van Brugen/Compiled by Takasugi) On Wednesday (March 16), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a rare speech to both houses of the U.S. Congress. After making wartime speeches and calling for further aid from Washington, the White House said it was firmly opposed to helping to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Addressing Congress, Zelensky again called on the Biden administration to help enforce a no-fly zone in Ukraine to protect civilians. The Russian military invasion of Ukraine is now approaching its fourth week.
“You are the leader of your great country,” Zelensky said in a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden. “I want you to be a world leader. To be a world leader means to be a leader of peace.”
The White House has previously rejected requests to help establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying the move could lead to an escalation that could lead to a larger war between the United States and Russia.
After Zelensky’s speech on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki repeated his previous remarks.
“We are in very close contact with the Ukrainian side,” Psaki said. “In that sense, his request or what he said today is not surprising. If we were President Zelensky, we would have raised it as well. All possible demands.” “He is watching his country and people be attacked and brutalized by President Putin and the Russian military.”
“But President Biden needs to make decisions through his own national security lens,” she said. “As we’ve said before, when a no-fly zone is in place, it needs to be enforced, and it may require us to shoot down Russian planes, and NATO to shoot down Russia. Airplanes. And we’re not interested in getting involved in World War III.”
Psaki was also asked if Zelensky was asking for a “humanitarian no-fly zone” rather than a “full blanket no-fly zone”? Psaki replied that both could lead to war with Russia.
“Both types of no-fly zones have been mentioned over the past few weeks – I don’t want to explain anything specifically – but humanitarian no-fly zones can be specific geographic locations or western Ukraine,” Psaki said. Parts of the country, and references to the no-fly zone are generally taken to mean the whole of Ukraine.”
“In our view, in the military’s view, there is no difference between the two in terms of implementation and escalation (leading to war),” she added.
Earlier this month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also rejected Ukraine’s request for a no-fly zone over it, saying it would lead to a larger and more destructive outbreak across Europe. conflict.
“We are not part of this conflict and we have a responsibility to make sure it doesn’t escalate and spread beyond Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told a March 4 news conference.
Stoltenberg said: “We understand the desperation, but we also believe that if we do this (a no-fly zone), the result could be a full-scale war in Europe, involving more countries and bringing more suffering.”
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei#