Moscow Warns of Resumption of Ukraine War in 2024

Meanwhile, the West's preoccupation with the Gaza war has practically diverted their attention from the Ukraine war, and this has encouraged Ukraine's pro-western government to become increasingly pessimistic. Sergei Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, said on Wednesday, November 29, that due to the position of Western countries being completely unacceptable to Moscow, there is no possibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine next year. The senior Russian diplomat expressed his views on Russia's relations with NATO and Ukraine during an interview with Izvestia released Wednesday, despite claims from Western media about America's efforts to end the war. Ryabkov said: "Unfortunately, the United States is leading a group that uses Zelensky's peace formula as a slogan. This group repeats and claims that the formula is a potential basis for peace." Ryabkov The peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky includes returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders, seeking war reparations from Moscow and trying Russian officials in international courts. Moscow rejects this plan and says it is far from reality . Given the apparent failure of the counteroffensive in Ukraine, which began in mid-2023 on multiple fronts, but did not meet Western expectations, now the United States, along with several European countries, is trying to get Kiev's agreement to enter a ceasefire process with Russia and sign a peace agreement. It appears that Ukraine's western supporters are inclined to pursue peace negotiations with Russia, although their perceived peace depends on fulfilling the conditions considered by Kiev. In this case, America and Germany made secret efforts to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate with Russia . Senior Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, recently acknowledged that the failure of Ukrainian forces' counteroffensive in the summer had reduced Western countries' willingness to send aid to the country. In this case, the way Washington and Berlin delivered weapons to Ukraine was such that Kiev realized that it could not recover its lost territory. A few weeks ago, Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, warned that US aid to Ukraine might be reduced, and said that the organization's members must have the necessary political preparations to compensate for this. Despite the obvious obstacles and prospects of the West's reluctance to resume military aid and weapons as in the past, Ukrainian officials have rejected peace talks with Russia . Kiev has repeatedly emphasized that the assistance of Western allies, which have repeatedly increased arms deliveries to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war, played a decisive role for the country's army. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities insisted on sending more modern equipment and ammunition. Meanwhile, after the al-Aqsa Hurricane operation and the Gaza war, Zelensky repeatedly expressed concern that, despite promises from allies, Western support for Kiev would decrease. He has announced that since the start of Israel's military operations against Hamas, he has received fewer artillery shells . The Ukrainian President's recognition of the important role of Western assistance, especially the United States, in the continuation of Ukraine's war with Russia and forcing Kiev to withdraw from the battlefield if this assistance is stopped, shows how far the West continues to play a vital role in the continuation of the bloody war in Ukraine, which is now entering 22nd month. America, as the leader of the Western bloc and NATO, has done its best to continuously expand the scope of the war in Ukraine with the aim of weakening Russia as much as possible and inflicting human and equipment casualties on Russia. Senior American and NATO officials believe that a Russian victory in the Ukrainian war, even in the vicinity of NATO, would mean discrediting this military organization and expanding Russia's regional and international influence and power, and would change the security, military and political balance in Europe to the detriment of these countries. West. In this regard, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in his latest stance regarding the Ukraine war emphasized its main role in determining the balance of power between Russia and the United States. Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday (29/11/2023) that the success of Russia's military operations could destroy Washington's position in the world. (MF)