Russian envoy claims US not looking for ‘diplomatic settlement’ of war in Ukraine

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia’s ambassador to the US on Saturday claimed that Washington is "unwilling" to look for ways to a diplomatic settlement of the war in Ukraine.

In a statement on Telegram, Anatoly Antonov claimed the US does not do anything to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table.

"The US continues to pump up its wards with new batches of deadly weapons. The allocation of such impressive financial resources for these purposes indicates one thing: Washington does not intend to look for ways to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict," he said.

Antonov said that the US authorities ignore that Ukrainians die in the conflict and that the money of the US taxpayers is "burnt in the furnace of war" instead of being spent for their own needs.

"In addition, (this money) disappears into the black hole of corruption, smuggling and fraudulent schemes in Kyiv. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the US to hush up these unseemly things," he said.

The ambassador said that the return of peace to Ukraine "is not part of the plans of Washington strategists."

"Their priority is to lobby for the interests of the military-industrial complex. Every day there are reports from the war zone of people killed and mutilated by fragments of American missiles. Ammunition branded Made in USA explodes in residential neighborhoods, turning peaceful cities into smoking ruins," Antonov said.

On June 9, the Pentagon announced that the US had decided to allocate a new $2.1 billion package of military assistance to Ukraine, which will include additional air defense and ammunition.

According to the Department of Defense, the weapons for Ukraine will be purchased by the American side from US manufacturers or partners.