Russian expert claims West keen on continuing hostilities in Ukraine

While disputes in the West over the Ukrainian conflict will continue, the approach that has prevailed so far is in favour of continued hostilities, Dmitry Suslov, a deputy director of the Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics told TASS.

"US President Joe Biden has made an ambiguous statement that he was kind of ready for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but on terms that Russia clearly does not like. The problem is that the Biden administration, like the West as a whole, doesn’t have a unified position on the Ukrainian conflict," said Suslov, who is also an expert at the Valdai Club.

"These disputes will continue," he said. "But I don’t see any conditions for a settlement on the part of the West in the short term."

According to Suslov, "the West has so far retained a common denominator in favour of finding resources for military assistance to Ukraine" and the continuation of hostilities.
Different approaches in the West

Different approaches in the West

The expert said officials in the US administration have different views on the Ukrainian crisis. Thus, Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff prefers resolving the conflict by political and diplomatic means as soon as possible.

"Because he understands that it’s impossible to win on the battlefield, as US military inventories are running out, and they have already been completely depleted in Europe, Suslov said. "And in general, he understands he has to deter China because China has been declared the main strategic adversary of the United States."

The other side, the analyst said, is represented by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, who has reiterated the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. "So, there’s no unity within the Biden administration," Suslov said. "There is also no unity within the West because there are countries like Poland, the UK, the Baltic countries that hold the same opinion as Victoria Nuland, and there are people like French President Emmanuel Macron, who are rather in solidarity with Mark Milley."

Biden’s proposal

Last week, Biden said he was ready to discuss with Putin the possibility of ending hostilities in Ukraine, but that he didn’t plan such communication in the near future because he thought that Moscow must first make certain decisions. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov on December 2 said the Kremlin wasn’t ready for talks with the US if the condition was a "withdrawal from Ukraine," but said the Russian leader was and is open to communication.