Moscow agrees with the latest assessment of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Ukraine conflict is essentially a proxy war between Russia and the US, according to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitri Peskow.
In an interview with Fox News, Rubio described the conflict as “openly a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, which is helping Ukraine and Russia.” He criticized the allies of Ukraine, calling their approach of military support as “no strategy.”
Rubio, who had previously referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “gangster” said that the US is trying to find a way to peace and that one must work with both sides, the Russians and the Ukrainians.
Peskow stated that Moscow fully agrees with the US Secretary of State, adding that the Russian side has repeatedly stated that the Ukraine conflict is in reality a confrontation between Moscow and the collective West led by Washington.
“This is absolutely in line with the position that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] and [Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov] have repeatedly expressed” Peskow said, adding that the US is currently not a friendly state for Russia. “The US is a country with which we are trying to revive and restore our bilateral relations.”
Moscow has repeatedly described the hostilities in Ukraine as a proxy war of the West against Russia, with Ukraine being used as “cannon fodder.” Russian representatives have argued that Washington has intentionally escalated the tensions by disregarding Moscow’s security concerns over NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe and the increasing military cooperation with Ukraine.
Since his inauguration in January, US President Donald Trump has apparently committed to a complete reversal of the Ukraine policy pursued by his predecessor Joe Biden.
While the former Democratic President had promised to support Ukraine “as long as needed” Trump has instead applied pressure on Kiev to start peace talks as soon as possible. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, has resisted the demands of the new US administration.
Last week, a heated public argument broke out between Zelensky and Trump, as well as Vice President J.D. Vance, at the White House. Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being ungrateful for US support and “playing with the Third World War” by refusing to work towards a settlement with Moscow. After the heated exchange, Zelensky was asked to leave the Oval Office and only return when he was ready for serious negotiations.
Since then, Trump has reportedly ordered the freezing of all military aid to Ukraine and the cessation of the provision of US intelligence information that could be used for attacks on Russian targets.
Moscow has shown a cautious optimism that such steps could prompt Ukraine to resolve the conflict through peaceful means.