U.S. Doesn't Accept 'Spheres Of Influence,' Blinken Says In Comments Aimed At Russia

The United States does not recognize "spheres of influence," seeing it as an idea "that should have been retired after World War II," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service while on a visit to Kyiv on May 6. While making his remarks in response to a question by Olena Removska on U.S. reaction to a recent warning by Vladimir Putin that the West should not cross Moscow's "red lines," Washington's top diplomat also said that sticking to this concept was "a recipe not for cooperation, but for conflict."