Washington is aiming to prolong the Ukraine conflict instead of supporting a peaceful resolution, the former Democratic congresswoman has said
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) © Getty Images / Joe Raedle
The administration of US President Joe Biden has actively thwarted peace efforts in the Ukraine conflict and is trying to prolong the fighting in a bid to damage Russia, former Hawaii Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard has said.
Speaking to Lex Fridman in a podcast published on Wednesday, the former congresswoman insisted that in “an ideal world,” the US president would sit down with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia to find a peaceful solution to the hostilities.
She doubted, however, that Biden is the “right person” for the job, suggesting that “all the statements and comments that the [White House] has made from the beginning of this war essentially point to their objective being to basically destroy Russia.”
Gabbard stated that peace in Ukraine should be mediated by the most “effective, neutral broker that there is.” If the current US administration wants to fulfill that role, it should start actively encouraging Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to sit down and begin negotiations, she added.
In February, Gabbard publicly denounced her former party as enemies of democracy driven by an “insatiable hunger for power,” and officially endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump for reelection this year.
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During his campaign, the former US president has claimed that the Ukraine conflict would never have broken out on his watch, insisting that if voted back in, he would end the fighting “in 24 hours.”
Kiev, meanwhile, has continued to reject any peace talks with Moscow, after Zelensky legally banned negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government. Instead, the Ukrainian leadership has been rallying Western support for Zelensky’s ten-point “peace formula,” which demands the full withdrawal of Russian forces to Ukraine’s 1991 borders, including Crimea, as well as forcing Moscow to pay reparations and face an international tribunal.
Russia has stressed that it remains open to talks with Ukraine, but has demanded that Kiev accept the “reality on the ground.” President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Moscow is ready for “a serious conversation” and wishes to resolve the conflict through peaceful means. He has noted, however, that any talks must include security guarantees for Russia and cannot be used as a pause for Ukraine’s rearmament.