Blinken decries Russia’s cooperation with N. Korea, Iran, China

Washington, July 20 – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Washington’s concerns over Russia’s cooperation with North Korea, Iran and China in the midst of its war in Ukraine, stressing it is “not good for your reputation” to work closely with Moscow.

Blinken made the remarks as concerns have persisted over both regional and global security implications of a growing military alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow, and Beijing’s purported support for Russia’s defence industrial base, Yonhap news agency reported.

“Now it’s also true that the Russians have found workarounds, and particularly in their relationship with North Korea (and) with Iran,” Blinken said in his remarks during a forum hosted by the Aspen Strategy Group.

“And unfortunately with China, they have found ways to keep the defence industrial base moving so that they can continue to prosecute the aggression against Ukraine,” he added.

Commenting on Russia’s deepening ties with North Korea, Iran and China, the secretary said that the move is something that has been “in the works for a long time”, and might have accelerated as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Blinken highlighted a reputation issue associated with backing Russia’s war effort, while touting a large international coalition in support of Ukraine’s efforts for its defence and territorial integrity.

“It’s not particularly good for your reputation to be working closely with Russia … So, I think China is very uncomfortable in the position it’s in,” he said.

In addition, he underscored deepening cooperation among the US and its European and Indo-Pacific partners in the thick of Russia’s war in Ukraine, calling it “remarkable”.

“We built convergence across the Atlantic, we built it across the Pacific, and we built it between the Atlantic and Pacific,” he said. “So, I would take our teams and countries that we’ve been working with than anything that Russia has been able to put together.”

Blinken warned that China cannot say it wants better relations with Europe “when it is actually helping to fuel the greatest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War”.