MOSCOW, 31 July. /TASS/. The United States may aggravate the Ukrainian conflict in 2024 if one of the parties needs additional votes in connection with the ongoing presidential race in the country, Deputy Speaker of Russia's Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Konstantin Kosachev said in an interview with aif.ru.

"This is a very dangerous situation, because the Americans are not afraid to use foreign policy in their inter-party rivalry. If one of the parties feels that it needs to escalate the situation in Ukraine in order to gain more votes in the elections, it will do so. So the fact that the presidential election in the United States, which will culminate in 2024, could be a terrible, if not catastrophic event. I can't guarantee that there will be an escalation, but the risk is obvious to me. The unpredictability of American behavior will increase and the tail may start wagging the dog again," he said in response to a question about the impact of the US presidential election on the conflict.

According to Kosachev, further escalation of the military conflict with the use of Heavier types of weapons could increase the likelihood of nuclear use. "Fortunately, we have not yet reached that threshold. However, there is a risk of approaching it," the lawmaker stressed.

According to the senator, Washington persuaded Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to abandon any talks with Russia last year and has no plans to return to the path of negotiations. "They (negotiations on Ukraine - TASS) began in March last year, but were thwarted by an unprecedented external influence on Ukraine. Then, by decree, President Zelensky banned himself and all other Ukrainian authorities from engaging in such talks. This is, of course, a decision made by the United States. They most likely have the ability to reverse their decision. But I have not yet seen such intentions," Kosachev noted.