Secretary of State John Kerry said he did not believe military force would bring an end to the Ukrainian crisis.
“There is no military solution. The solution is a political, diplomatic one,” Kerry said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Kerry’s comments come as some lawmakers have pressed the Obama administration to arm Ukrainian forces. Rebels allegedly backed by Russia have stoked fighting in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to absorb the area.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed the White House to resist sending arms to Ukraine. She and French President Francois Hollande are scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week to broker an end to the fighting.
Kerry wouldn’t detail what kind of aid the U.S. plans to provide Ukraine. He said that Putin’s actions are “leaving the global community with no choice” but to assist Ukraine or impose more sanctions on Russia, which have taken aim at the country’s oil and natural gas industry that fund more than half its budget.
“[Putin] is doing enormous damage to Russia,” Kerry said, adding that the Russian president’s actions “will catch up to him.”
The remarks come after Vice President Joe Biden expressed skepticism about whether the dialogue between Russia, Germany and France would produce a meaningful and lasting end to fighting in Ukraine.
“Too many times President Putin has promised peace and delivered tanks, and troops, and weapons. We will continue to provide Ukraine security assistance. Not to encourage war but to allow Ukraine to defend themselves. Let me be clear, we do not think there is a military solution,” Biden said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
