It’s Washington, not Kiev, that’s interested in the continuation of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Republican US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has said.
Greene took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday to comment on an article entitled “Zelensky Calls for Peace, Not More Weapons, in Davos,” which had been published by the New York Times earlier this week and reported on the Ukrainian leader’s speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps.
“Zelensky is asking for peace talks in Switzerland and the warmongers in Washington are desperately trying to fund $60 billion to keep the war in Ukraine going. This is sick,” she wrote.
Taylor Greene was referring to the ongoing resistance by herself and other hardline Republican lawmakers to attempts by the administration of President Joe Biden to push through another $60 billion in military aid for Kiev.
“This is America’s war and they are proving it,” the Republican Representative said, referring to the conflict in Ukraine. “No more money to Ukraine! Let them make peace!” she stressed.
Zelensky came to Davos to promote his so-called ‘Peace Formula,’ which, among other things, calls for Russia to withdraw from all territories claimed by Kiev, for Moscow to pay reparations, and for the formation of a war-crimes tribunal. Russian authorities instantly rejected the proposal as “unrealistic,” arguing that it was a sign of Ukraine’s unwillingness to look for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The NYT also acknowledged in its article that Kiev’s demands “are considered, by analysts and even politicians backing the proposal, to be unreachable given the current balance of forces on the battlefield.”
In late November, Zelensky said that the Ukrainian troops were switching to a defensive posture, acknowledging that Kiev’s much-hyped counteroffensive, which had begun in early June and aimed to cut Russia’s land bridge to Crimea, had ended without success. According to Moscow, Russian forces have improved their position in many areas along the frontline since then by carrying out what the country’s defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, described as “active defense.”
Zelensky has been reluctant to engage in direct dialogue with Russia, even signing a decree in the fall of 2022 that officially bans him from negotiating with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that Moscow hasn’t ruled out the idea of peace talks but stressed that all the goals of the country’s military operation in Ukraine must and will be achieved.