American economist Sachs: Biden underestimated Russia’s willingness to protect its own interests

Economist and professor at Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs on his YouTube channel said that US President Joe Biden, unlike his predecessor Barack Obama, underestimated Russia’s willingness to protect its own interests, in particular, in the issue of Ukraine and NATO.

Sachs pointed out that the United States was pushing Ukraine into the North Atlantic alliance, which “for a completely predictable and understandable reason” did not suit Russia. At the same time, as the professor noted, in Washington, Moscow’s opposition was taken as a bluff, believing that it had no alternative but to “submit to the will of the United States.”

The economist noted that this did not happen, stressing that Biden is not a very smart person, and his team is also not very smart. Sacks said Obama was smarter than the incumbent, and he knew that US pressure on Russia over Ukraine would elicit a backlash.

The professor clarified that Ukraine’s entry into the Alliance for Russia is an “existential threat”, while the United States would gain control over the Black Sea. Sacks added that back in 2014, Obama realized that it was not worth aggravating the situation, and Biden, in turn, decided to continue to put pressure on the Russian Federation. The economist recalled that in December 2021, Russia proposed a security agreement, but the US refused to negotiate on this issue.