US Seeks ‘Just and Lasting Peace’ for Ukraine, Blinken Says 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech at the Helsinki City Hall, in Helsinki, Finland June 2, 2023. (Lehtikuva/via Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech at the Helsinki City Hall, in Helsinki, Finland June 2, 2023. (Lehtikuva/via Reuters)
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US Seeks ‘Just and Lasting Peace’ for Ukraine, Blinken Says 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech at the Helsinki City Hall, in Helsinki, Finland June 2, 2023. (Lehtikuva/via Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech at the Helsinki City Hall, in Helsinki, Finland June 2, 2023. (Lehtikuva/via Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday the United States was working with Ukraine and other allies to build consensus around the core elements of a "just and lasting peace" to end the war with Russia. 

Washington would also encourage initiatives by other countries to bring about an end to the conflict, as long as they uphold the United Nations Charter and Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. 

"We will support efforts – whether by Brazil, China, or any other nation – if they help find a way to a just and lasting peace," Blinken said in a speech. 

Still, Washington would continue to support Ukraine militarily as the prerequisite for meaningful diplomacy is that Kyiv is capable of deterring and defending against any future aggression. 

"Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine has been a strategic failure," Blinken said. 

Speaking in Finland, the NATO alliance's newest member, Blinken said the US would help build a "Ukrainian military of the future". 

That meant "a modern air force, integrated air and missile defense, advanced tanks and armored vehicles, the national capacity to produce ammunition, and the training and support to keep forces and equipment combat ready". 



Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.

In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China.

The post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.

The United States largely built the canal and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the US government fully handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

"It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."

The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.