The New York Times: Washington is worried Russia having the upper hand in peace negotiations

The New York Times reported that US officials are worried that Russia will have the upper hand in the rhetoric of willingness to negotiate, thus winning the non-aligned countries in the war.

The New York Times added, in a report, that major countries such as India, South Africa and Brazil have not taken clear positions in the conflict in Ukraine, noting that these countries “Russia relies on in economic relations.

Russia, by declaring that it’s more willing than the West to negotiate, strengthens the position of the countries of the Global South in not making a choice against it.

The Russian president statements said in late December, “Russia is ready to negotiate with all concerned about acceptable solutions, but this is up to them… They’re the ones who refuse to negotiate, not Moscow”.

Likewise, “Putin blames Western sanctions for raising global food prices,” and asserts that “the United States and its allies can quickly mitigate the problem through a settlement with Moscow”.

According to the Russian analyst at the Randsamuel Charap Foundation, such rhetoric is “largely directed at India and other non-aligned forces”.

According to the New York Times, this comes at a time when support for more active peacekeeping efforts is growing even in the United States itself, where polling data indicates large numbers are voting in favor of diplomacy.

In turn, Andrea Kendall Taylor, a Russian expert at the Center for a New American Security, said, “Zelinsky was asked to be a diplomat, but his instinct is to fight on the battlefield”.

The Kremlin had accused Kiev of withdrawing from peace negotiations with Moscow last March, based on orders from Washington, and stressed at the same time that Russia doesn’t give up the possibility of negotiations with Ukraine, but postponing negotiations makes it difficult to agree.

Negotiations took place between Moscow and Kiev after the Russian military operation in Ukraine to end it.

The foreign ministers of the two countries also met last March in Türkiye without reaching substantial results.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, had said that the West is preventing Ukraine from negotiating with Moscow, and he believes that it is too early for negotiations to start between Russia and Ukraine, and the latter must be armed and supported.