Prominent US economist Jeffrey Sachs has criticized European NATO members for escalating hostility toward Russia, undermining the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Sachs highlighted a draft peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine during 2022 talks in Istanbul that was later abandoned by Ukrainian authorities after then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraged Kyiv to pursue military victory.
Sachs accused European nations of fostering a “state of warmongering,” stating, “What could be peace continues with war. This is a failure of American and European politics.” He criticized the lack of professional negotiation efforts, dismissing former US President Donald Trump’s mediation attempts as insufficient due to his perceived lack of attention to detail.
Meanwhile, Russian officials dismissed Western statements, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mocking claims that Russia was a “paper tiger,” asserting, “There is no such thing as a paper bear.” Moscow has long blamed European leaders for prolonging the conflict by refusing to acknowledge the failure of their policies toward Moscow.
