Former US Ambassador: US Will Not Be Able to Bend Russia to Its Will

Former US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said that “US influence over Russia is running out,” and a clear example of this is the situation in Ukraine.

“We have done everything we can to force Russia to bend to our will, and we have done so in Ukraine. How are we going to threaten them now?” Foreign Policy magazine quoted him as saying.

The former ambassador noted that the United States has already used "many sticks" against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

"How should we threaten them (the Russians) now? We have used the whip on him (President Vladimir Putin) several times over the situation in Ukraine. If we could have come up with tougher methods, we would have used them already in relation to Ukraine," he said.

In early September 2022, John Sullivan completed his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Moscow, which he began in December 2019.