Jeffrey Sachs says US backroom diplomacy on Ukraine fails without accepting multipolar world
Quick Look
Economist Jeffrey Sachs told RT that US backroom diplomacy on Ukraine cannot achieve peace unless Washington accepts it is no longer the sole superpower and must account for Russia's security interests in a multi-polar world, following closed-door talks by US envoys with Putin and Zelensky.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Closed-door talks were held by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev over the weekend, though details of proposals exchanged were not made public.
US backroom diplomacy on Ukraine cannot achieve peace without Washington accepting that it is no longer the world’s sole superpower, economist and public policy scholar Jeffrey Sachs has told RT.
The comments follow separate closed-door talks held by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev over the weekend. Details of the proposals exchanged during the meetings have not been made public.
“The US still has a grandiose idea that it is the world’s hegemon and the sole superpower, and it is not. Clearly, we are in a multi-polar world,” Sachs told RT in an exclusive interview on Sunday.
Sachs argued that a peace settlement requires taking Russia’s security interests into account and abandoning the expansionist foreign policy the US has pursued for more than 30 years.
“It seems to be psychologically very difficult” for Washington to openly accept that “basic reality,” he argued, saying this is why it resorts to “backroom negotiations” and secrecy that ultimately produce no tangible results.
Sachs also described the situation in Ukraine as an “endgame situation,” arguing that Kiev is in a desperate position militarily, socially, and politically.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
US backroom diplomacy on Ukraine will continue to produce no tangible results unless Washington accepts multipolarity
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What specific proposals were exchanged in the closed-door talks between US envoys and Putin/Zelensky?
- What concrete steps does Sachs propose for the US to accept a multipolar world in its Ukraine policy?
- How might Russia's security interests be formally addressed in a peace settlement?
