Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov has been relieved after seven years of serving as Moscow's top diplomat in the country. In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, Antonov shared his concerns before stepping down after seven years of service.
During his tenure, Antonov became a prominent voice for the Kremlin's stance on U.S.-Russia relations, which have steadily worsened amid the conflict in Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's increased military support for Kyiv.
In his final interview in the U.S., Antonov expressed concern that the ongoing conflict was drawing American leaders deeper into a dangerous situation. (Related: Preparing for WWIII? Thousands of French soldiers to join military exercise in Romania next year for simulated war with Russia.)
"'Project Ukraine' is dragging American politicians further into an abyss, from which it is increasingly difficult to escape," Antonov told Newsweek. He criticized U.S. officials for responding to Russian military gains in the contested Donbas region and Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast with repeated commitments to continue supporting Ukraine "as long as we can."
Antonov lamented that Washington had not signaled any interest in negotiations or attempts to reconsider its stance. "There are zero signals to [Ukraine] about the need to think over their position and sit down at the negotiating table," he said. "Nor are there any hints about stopping the senseless flow of weapons at the expense of the local taxpayer."
He further warned that U.S. discussions about potentially allowing Ukraine to use American-supplied ballistics to conduct long-range missile strikes in Russian territory were particularly dangerous due to recent warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin that such actions would amount to NATO's direct involvement in the conflict.
U.S. positions on Ukraine conflict influenced by electoral considerations, not desire for peace
Before being appointed Moscow's top diplomat in the U.S. in 2017, Antonov served as the Russian State Duma's deputy minister of foreign affairs and the deputy minister of defense. Throughout his career, he has served as one of the loudest voices in the U.S. for the Kremlin's interests during the administrations of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Now, as Biden prepares to leave office, Antonov has spent the last few weeks of his time in Washington refraining from commenting on the unique dynamics of U.S. politics. However, in his interview, he did note that American leaders seemed to be shaping their stance on Ukraine based not on the desire for regional peace but on domestic electoral considerations.
"Local party strategists seem to be trying to craft official statements on Ukraine to fit the U.S. electoral cycle," Antonov observed. He accused American politicians of prioritizing polling numbers over the well-being of Europeans and Ukrainians.
"They are only interested in adjusting public opinion in their favor, demonstrating 'determination' and 'leadership.' This is pure recklessness," he added.
Antonov also expressed dismay over the divided public discourse in the United States. On the one hand, he acknowledged the efforts of certain political thinkers who aim to develop bipartisan solutions to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a global crisis.
"There are reasonable attempts to understand the situation and find options to end the conflict," he said. "But those voices are often silenced or dismissed as 'Kremlin propaganda.'"
Watch this report discussing the alleged destruction of a NATO warship in Odesa.
This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.
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