US Prevents Ukraine From Settling Conflict With Russia

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said Thursday that the U.S. and the U.K. have prevented Ukraine from settling the conflict with Russia.

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"There are interested parties in this conflict," Patrushev told a press conference in Belarus, referring to "the United States and the United Kingdom," who seek to prolong the current hostilities.

"They don't care about people dying, because it is not their people, they are not waging war on their own soil," the Russian diplomat said. 

According to Patrushev, at negotiations held in Türkiye in early March last year, "even the Ukrainian leadership itself was ready to sign a peace treaty and handed Russia written proposals that we, in principle, approved."

Ukraine proposed to commit to neutrality in exchange for security guarantees. However, the Ukrainian government withdrew from the peace talks, leaving negotiations for a peaceful settlement completely frozen.

"Had it not been for U.S. pressure on those whom they installed at the helm of Ukraine, this situation would not have arisen," Patrushev said, noting that with the conflict in Ukraine, Western countries aim to preserve their hegemony in the world. 

"Russia is not the ultimate goal (...) their ultimate goal is China. They [intend] to dominate the world, but that is unacceptable and will not happen," the Russian Security Council secretary said. 

His remarks came during a visit to the Belarusian capital Minsk to attend a meeting of security chiefs of the members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional mutual defense bloc.