WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the Biden administration was neither sending troops to Russia nor was imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as doing so could lead to a direct conflict with a nuclear power.

In interviews to various US media outlets during the weekend, Secretary Blinken explained that a no-fly zone would require the United States to enforce it, which could involve shooting down Russian planes flying over Ukraine.

In an interview to NBC Meet the Press program, he said that US President Joe Biden “has been very clear about one thing all along, which is we’re not going to put the United States in direct conflict with Russia, not have, you know, American planes flying against Russian planes or our soldiers on the ground in Ukraine.”

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for Nato to impose a no-fly zone over his country to counter the threat from Russian military aircraft. At home, a growing number of US lawmakers have also called on the Biden administration to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

Nato leaders, however, have made it clear that they had no plan to do so, as they feared that this could lead to a broader war with Russia. The White House too has said such a move is not on the table.

But Secretary Blinken was more explicit, pointing out that Russia was a nuclear power and that too was a cause for concern. “The president also has a responsibility to not get us into a direct conflict, a direct war with Russia, a nuclear power.”

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2022