New York, 24 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned against a "temporary or unconditional ceasefire" in the war against Ukraine, saying that any peace agreed between Russia and Ukraine must be "durable."

"Russia will use any pause in fighting to consolidate control over the territories illegally seized and replenish its forces for further attacks," Blinken told a UN Security Council meeting on Friday which marked the anniversary of Russia's full invasion of Ukraine.

Security Council members should therefore not be fooled by calls for a ceasefire, Blinken said, warning that this mistake was made back in 2015 after Russia's first invasion of Ukraine.

Blinken did not mention China by name in his speech - but his remarks can be interpreted as a reaction to a position paper presented by China on a potential peace settlement in the Ukraine war.

In the much-anticipated position paper released on Friday, China called for a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine and an early resumption of negotiations. The paper does not call on Russia to leave occupied Ukrainian territory. Ukraine rejected the plan.

A peace settlement should be in line with the principles of the UN Charter, Blinken continued: "sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence."

Anything else would "weaken the Charter and send a message to would-be aggressors everywhere that they can invade countries and get away with it," stressed Blinken. Peace must "ensure that Russia cannot simply rest, rearm, and relaunch the war in a few months or a few years."

He concluded by saying: "If Russia stops fighting and leaves Ukraine, the war ends."