WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th June, 2023) The United States has to start peace negotiations to stop the conflict in Ukraine rather than sending more weapons to Kiev, US antiwar and social justice activist Rick Sterling told Sputnik.
Sterling and his colleague Dan Kovalik from the US-based United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) have recently visited Russia, including Crimea. They wanted to speak to Russians and, as people from the US, let the Russians know that they opposed the sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies over the conflict.
"The US should encourage instead of sabotaging negotiations," Sterling said.
He called this conflict a "proxy war" and accused Washington of fueling tensions. He also reminded that the US had already spent over $100 billion by sending weapons and paying for Ukrainian government expenses.
Sterling and Kovalik spent five days in Crimea and traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
"We were struck by how good, clean, and efficient St. Petersburg and Moscow look compared to our US cities," he said.
The activist noted they had no problems during their trip, except for relatively expensive visas. They had to pay all of the expenses from their own pocket and noted that is the only reason why it is necessary to wait for some time before realizing a plan to come back again.
"We were treated very well wherever we went. When Russians we met learned we are Americans, they invariably said: 'Welcome.' We met strangers on the overnight trains and ended up having friendly toasts to 'Peace and Friendship!'" Sterling said.
When asked to share his impressions of the situation in Russia amid Western sanctions, Sterling said he was surprised by what he saw around him.
"We went into many stores to see if the shelves were empty. On the contrary, they were full of merchandise, clothing, sporting goods, food, and drinks! And there seemed to be plenty of customers," he said.
The US activist noted that some famous Russians, including artists, musicians, and athletes, are heavily impacted by restrictions. However, many people "on the street" told him and Kovalik that those limitations caused them small inconvenience.
"The Western attempt to deal a huge blow to the Russian economy has clearly failed," Sterling concluded.
On the other side, he expressed frustration that the Biden administration is trying to target Russia instead of improving its own infrastructure in the US and supporting Americans.
Sterling said he would like to convey his impressions on the Russian trip to the US government but is not so naive. Instead, US activists are communicating with regular Americans and encouraging people to start demanding to stop the weaponization of Ukraine and to start peace talks, he added.
