Blinken Rejects Call for No-Fly Zone: ‘Could Lead to a Full-Fledged War’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected calls for there to be a no-fly zone over Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, in response to reporters’ questions at a press briefing in Brussels on Friday.

Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance would not establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

“NATO is not part of the conflict,” said Stoltenberg. “We do not seek war, conflict with Russia. At the same time, we need to make sure there is no misunderstanding about our commitment to protect all allies.”

At the press conference, a Euronews reporter asked Blinken, “So we heard this morning at NATO that the situation would get worse before it gets better. So tell us, what do know you that we don’t? And is the no to the no-fly zone set in stone completely, or would you consider it if this conflict does become a massacre?”

Blinken responded:

With regard to the no-fly zone, I think you heard NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg speak to this earlier today. One of the responsibilities we have even as we are doing everything we can to give the Ukrainian people the means to defend themselves effectively against Russia, we also have a responsibility, as the secretary general said, to ensure that the war doesn’t spill over even beyond Ukraine.

And again, because I think he put it so well, as he noted, the only way to actually implement something like a no-fly zone is to send NATO planes into Ukrainian airspace and to shoot down Russian planes. And that could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe. President [Joe] Biden’s been clear that we are not going to get into a war with Russia.

But we are going to tremendous lengths with allies and partners to provide Ukrainians with the means to effectively defend themselves, and, of course, we’re seeing every single day their extraordinary heroism as well as very real results in what they’re doing to achieve that.

Watch above, via MSNBC.