Mikhail Galuzin
© RTRussian Deputy FM Mikhail Galuzin
US policy on Ukraine is inherently cynical and ignores the interests of the Ukrainian people, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin claimed in an interview with RT. Washington is the biggest beneficiary from the hostilities, he added.

The US and its NATO allies "consider Ukraine as just raw material for [fulfilling] their aggressive purposes against Russia," the senior diplomat said in an interview. Washington has declared the "strategic defeat" of Russia in Ukraine as its goal, he noted, with the US and its allies delivering weapons to Kiev on an unprecedented scale.

"The main beneficiary of [arming Ukraine] is the USA. [Its] military industrial complex... is now ensured orders for years to come. They are making profit on the war they conduct in Ukraine against us," Galuzin said.

The deputy minister also commented on the Chinese peace plan for Ukraine, which Beijing presented earlier this year, affirming it could serve as the basis of a future peace agreement. However, it is up to Kiev to resume negotiations, he said, as it was the party that pulled out in the first place.

"In March 2022, it was Russia that responded positively to a Ukrainian proposal to hold peace talks. And the two sides were close to an agreement. We even formulated a draft treaty with Ukraine," he said, referring to talks mediated by Türkiye.

Kiev has not responded to a document that Moscow put forward in April based on what Ukraine suggested in Istanbul, Galuzin said.

"The Kiev regime was stopped by its Western mentors," he claimed, reiterating the view previously expressed by other senior Russian officials. The US "and its satellites" want to weaken Russia and are using Ukraine as a tool to do that, the diplomat stated.

"They seem to be ready to continue this fighting to the last Ukrainian, unfortunately," he remarked.

In the interview with RT, Galuzin also discussed Russian relations with Belarus and Moldova and the escalating religious conflict in Ukraine.