Speaking at the European Parliament, Sachs said U.S.-led wars were not isolated events but part of a broader foreign policy pattern that, in his view, began after the collapse of the Soviet Union, News.az reports.
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“They were wars that the United States led and caused. And this has been true for more than 40 years now — more than 30 years, I should say, to be more precise,” Sachs said.
According to him, the turning point came in 1990-1991, when the United States concluded that the post-Cold War international order gave it unmatched authority in global affairs.
“What happened, especially in 1990-1991 and then with the end of the Soviet Union, was that the United States came to the view that it now ran the world, and that it did not have to heed anybody’s views, red lines, concerns, security perspectives, international obligations or any UN framework,” he said.
Sachs said he was speaking bluntly because he wanted European policymakers to understand what he described as the roots of the current geopolitical crisis.
“I am sorry to put it so plainly, but I do want you to understand,” he added.
The economist also recalled his efforts in 1991 to secure Western financial support for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during the final period of the Soviet Union. Sachs described Gorbachev as “the greatest statesman of our modern time” and said Washington rejected the proposal.
“In 1991, I tried very hard to secure help for Gorbachev, whom I consider the greatest statesman of our modern time,” Sachs said.
He added that he had later read archived records of a U.S. National Security Council discussion on his proposal, claiming that officials dismissed the idea.
“I recently read the archived memo of the National Security Council discussion of my proposal. They completely dismissed it and laughed it off the table when I said that the United States should help the Soviet Union with financial stabilization and reforms,” Sachs said.
His remarks add to Sachs’ broader criticism of U.S. foreign policy, particularly Washington’s role in shaping the post-Cold War security architecture and its approach to Russia.
