MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. The stance of Western military-industrial corporations' top brass, who lobby for further arms supplies to Kiev, remains the main obstacle to a peace settlement in Ukraine, Eddie Gonzales, US political commentator and host of Russia Up Close, has told TASS.
"The Western military-industrial complex's interest in further arms supplies is the main obstacle to resolving the conflict in Ukraine," the expert believes.
Gonzales noted that "’victory first, negotiations later’ is the approach many major European capitals have taken, leaving little room for any kind of middle ground." "Western financing and weapons still find their way to Ukraine, which puts Ukraine in a difficult position where it cannot negotiate when those governments still supplying weapons to Ukraine have expectations that Ukraine will continue to use them offensively," says the American observer.
"If arms supplies to Ukraine stop, the conflict ends. But there are many forces at play that keep the money and arms flowing," he added.
On November 23, the United States and Ukraine held consultations on Washington's 28-point "peace plan." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the meeting the most productive since the onset of the conflict. Ukrainian media reported that Washington and Kiev were able to agree on most of the plan. As Rubio indicated, the United States agreed to separate the points on Ukraine's European integration and NATO membership into a different negotiating track. According to The Washington Post, following these consultations, the plan's points were reduced to 19.
According to Western media reports, the initial version of the American plan envisioned Ukraine's pledge not to join NATO and the alliance's commitment not to integrate Kiev, as well as recognition by the United States and other countries of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and Donbass, the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donetsk People's Republic, the official status of the Russian language in Ukraine, a limitation on the size of the Ukrainian army, and the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions. EU leaders expressed disagreement with several points and announced the development of counterproposals.