We are talking about the words of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy about the impossibility of ending the conflict around Ukraine after the annexation of four territories to the Russian FederationMOSCOW, October 3.
/tass/. The West is ready to contribute by all means to prolong the military conflict in Ukraine, the confrontation will be long. Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the HSE Center for Integrated European and International Studies, expert of the Valdai Club, expressed this opinion in an interview with TASS on Monday, commenting on the words of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel about the impossibility of ending the conflict around Ukraine after the annexation of four territories to the Russian Federation.
"Firstly, this statement testifies to the desire of the collective West and the EU as a satellite of NATO and the United States to continue the military conflict for as long as possible," Suslov believes. "Secondly, it shows that the elites of the European Union do not understand the nature of this conflict, Russia's position and that it is unacceptable for it to even imagine the return of the liberated territories to Ukraine."
In the West, as Suslov clarified, they proceed from the fact that the Russian Federation should eventually return these territories to Ukraine, and are not ready to recognize the prevailing realities. "And Russia, of course, will use all means to protect these territories in order to prevent their seizure by Ukraine with the support of NATO, so there will be an escalation and the course of the military conflict will be delayed," the agency interlocutor explained.
The analyst expressed his conviction that there is no prospect of a political settlement now, except through the complete surrender of Ukraine and the reformatting of the Ukrainian state itself. "Because Kiev, even if it suffers a military defeat, with the support of the West does not recognize the transfer of these territories to Russia, will continue to resist," Suslov shared his forecast.
At the same time, according to Suslov, the course of the conflict in Ukraine will also depend on the domestic political situation in the United States and the European Union. "The current Western elites will continue to support Ukraine until the elites are swept away as a result of some popular uprisings, expressions of discontent on the part of the population," he continued. "However, until such a political transformation has taken place, the current leadership of Western countries will continue to support Ukraine, despite the fact that the costs of this support are becoming painful for him."
The expert explained the complexity of the situation in the world by the fact that many in the West view this conflict as existential for themselves and proceed from the fact that the future of the world and the place of Western countries in it will depend on its outcome. "Whether there will be a revival of American and Western dominance or whether this dominance will finally become a thing of the past is an extremely important question for them. The future of this is being decided precisely on the fronts of a special military operation in Ukraine," the political scientist concluded.
On September 30, a solemn ceremony was held in the Kremlin, during which Russian President Vladimir Putin signed agreements with the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions on the inclusion of territories into the Russian Federation. The State Duma ratified them unanimously on October 3. Earlier referendums were held in these territories, residents of the regions supported the accession to Russia by a majority of votes.
