Russia’s former top envoy to the United States has concluded his term with a dire warning about the escalating risk of deteriorating tensions between Moscow and Washington that could potentially lead to a nuclear confrontation.
Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov has been relieved after seven years of serving as Moscow’s top diplomat in the country. In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, Antonov shared his concerns before stepping down after seven years of service.
During his tenure, Antonov became a prominent voice for the Kremlin’s stance on U.S.-Russia relations, which have steadily worsened amid the conflict in Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s increased military support for Kyiv.
In his final interview in the U.S., Antonov expressed concern that the ongoing conflict was drawing American leaders deeper into a dangerous situation. (Related: Preparing for WWIII? Thousands of French soldiers to join military exercise in Romania next year for simulated war with Russia.)
“‘Project Ukraine’ is dragging American politicians further into an abyss, from which it is increasingly difficult to escape,” Antonov told Newsweek. He criticized U.S. officials for responding to Russian military gains in the contested Donbas region and Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast with repeated commitments to continue supporting Ukraine “as long as we can.”
Antonov lamented that Washington had not signaled any interest in negotiations or attempts to reconsider its stance. “There are zero signals to [Ukraine] about the need to think over their position and sit down at the negotiating table,” he said. “Nor are there any hints about stopping the senseless flow of weapons at the expense of the local taxpayer.”
He further warned that U.S. discussions about potentially allowing Ukraine to use American-supplied ballistics to conduct long-range missile strikes in Russian territory were particularly dangerous due to recent warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin that such actions would amount to NATO’s direct involvement in the conflict.
Hellbound and Down 