ROME, January 27. /TASS/. Neither Vladimir Zelensky nor his European partners have any strategy at this point of the Ukrainian conflict; they simply continue the bloodshed, presenting it as bravery, American economist, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs told the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper in an interview.
"The entire war in Ukraine has become mass suffering for the Ukrainian people at this stage, without any realistic strategy on the part of Zelensky and his associates or the Western leaders who steadfastly continue to support them. Instead of sanely assessing what can be done in this situation, at what price, and with what benefit, Zelensky and the Europeans are simply perpetuating the bloodshed. This is collective hypocrisy disguised as bravery," the expert noted.
According to Sachs, providing Ukraine with $800 billion in aid is "a pure fantasy." "No one will allocate such a sum. It could be wishful thinking, but there is no concrete plan," the expert added. Earlier, Politico reported that the EU and the US intend to attract $800 billion in state and private funding to support Ukraine after a ceasefire is established.
The US economist also pointed out that Europe has become a prisoner of its own Russophobia. "If Europe acknowledges that Russia is not an enemy but rather a part of Europe - a supplier of inexpensive energy resources and a natural partner in trade and investment - then it could reverse its economic and geopolitical decline," Sachs concluded.