"To avoid World War III," NATO must do everything possible to assist Ukraine, stressed Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on March 7. He told visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the danger presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin would persist "no matter how and when the War in Ukraine ends."

In public remarks before their meeting, Nauseda warned, "Putin will not stop in Ukraine; he will not stop." On Twitter, the Lithuanian leader said he had "stressed the urgent need to move from deterrence to real defense" in his conversation with the American Secretary of State.

Blinken assured his host that the U.S. was doing everything it could "to strengthen our alliance and ensure that it’s prepared for anything." He said NATO had "no aggressive intent" and the U.S. was ready to defend "every inch of NATO territory should it come under attack."

Blinken had met with officials in Poland and Moldova over the weekend before coming to Lithuania. The text of public remarks made at those meetings can be viewed at the U.S. Department of State website.

On March 5, Blinken met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Poland near the border with Ukraine.

At one point, the pair symbolically stepped across the border onto Ukrainian soil.

NATO refusal to declare a no-fly zone is 'a sign of weakness'

Kuleba said he regretted NATO's decision not to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine. "I think it is a sign of weakness," he said. Kuleba said the Ukrainians were paying the price for their eventual victory but "the price will be lower" if friendly nations "continue to provide us with necessary weapons." In particular, he expressed gratitude for shipments of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

"If we lose the skies, there will be much, much more blood on the ground, and that will be the blood of civilians," he said.

Blinken says Poland has 'green light' to give Ukraine fighter jets.

Speaking on the March 6 broadcast of CBS's Face the Nation, Blinken said, the Biden Administration had given "a green light" for Poland, a NATO partner, to provide the Ukraine with fighter jets.

He said the American government was talking with Poland about "what we might be able to do to back fill their needs if in fact they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians."

Ukrainians open to talks but not ultimatums

On Face the Nation, Blinken stressed that the United States was not trying to bring about regime change in Russia. Putin might succeed scoring some military successes but he was bound to fail in making Ukrainians submit to his rule, Blinken said.

In his remarks at the Polish-Ukrainian border, Kuleba said negotiations with the Russians about humanitarian corridors had not been productive. "But every war ends with diplomacy and with talks, so we have to continue talking, but we are not going to these talks to accept Russian ultimatums," he said.

Over 230,000 refugees have entered Moldova

In remarks to Blinken on March 6, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said that over 230,000 people had entered her country from Ukraine and 120,000 of them had stayed. These were very large numbers for a small country like Moldova, she said. Coping with the refugees had "only been possible because of the extraordinary solidarity shown by every person, every company, every nongovernmental organization."

On March 5, Blinken also said that President Joe Biden had asked Congress to give $2.75 billion in increased humanitarian aid to Ukraine and neighboring countries which had welcomed refugees from Ukraine, according to a report in The New York Times.
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