Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev anticipated Sunday that the US may use the Ukrainian conflict and fuel it further to secure a voter base in its country, while adding that “Americans are not afraid to use foreign policy in their inter-party rivalry”, as the presidential elections are set to take place in November 2024.
While speaking in an interview with aif.ru — a Russian media outlet — deputy speaker of the upper house Kosachev said: “This is a very dangerous situation, because the Americans are not afraid to use foreign policy in their inter-party rivalry. If one of the parties feels that it needs to escalate the situation in Ukraine in order to gain more votes in the elections, it will do so.”
He warned that “so the fact that the presidential election in the United States — which will culminate in 2024 — could be a terrible if not catastrophic event.”
While citing concerns over the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict further, he stated: “I can’t guarantee that there will be an escalation, but the risk is obvious to me. The unpredictability of American behavior will increase and the tail may start wagging the dog again.”
He also voiced concerns over the use of nuclear weapons by saying: “Further escalation of the military conflict with the use of Heavier types of weapons could increase the likelihood of nuclear use.”
“Fortunately, we have not yet reached that threshold. However, there is a risk of approaching it,” the official stated.
The 60-year-old senator said that Washington persuaded Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to abandon any talks with Russia last year and has no plans to return to the path of negotiations.
Days earlier, a Russian official spokesperson claimed that Moscow was open to dialogue with Ukraine to resolve the issue but it is the stubbornness of the Kiyv officials — who despite being disadvantaged — were running away from talks, according to TASS.
Dmitry Peskov said: “The Russian side remains open, which cannot be said about the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians stick to their irreconcilable position, especially now that they are in quite an uneasy situation but, nonetheless, they keep rejecting any opportunity for dialogue.”
“They [talks on Ukraine] began in March last year but were thwarted by an unprecedented external influence on Ukraine,” he claimed.
“Then, by decree, President Zelensky banned himself and all other Ukrainian authorities from engaging in such talks. This is, of course, a decision made by the United States,” the official remarked.
“They most likely have the ability to reverse their decision. But I have not yet seen such intentions,” Kosachev noted.
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