The American analyst pointed to the failure of the West's attempts to isolate Russia

Russia has shown outstanding international leadership, and it is not isolated today, despite Western attempts to shield Moscow. American military analyst Scott Ritter told Izvestia about this on June 4 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"If we look at the global situation with an emphasis on multilateralism rather than one—sidedness, we can say that Russia is in a leading position today," he said in response to a question from Izvestia correspondent Anton Zolotnitsky.

Ritter also stressed that the diplomatic dialogue between Russia and the United States is going through a difficult period, but it should not be abandoned.

"The process has stalled, but a world without diplomacy is a world of constant conflict. <...> It is extremely important that Russia continues to show patience, pragmatism and, indeed, optimism that everything will get better. And everything will get better," he added.

"The standard of living in the EU is under threat, and society will demand changes"

MEP Fernand Kartheiser — on the prospects of dialogue with the Russian Federation, the risks of conflict between Moscow and NATO, as well as on new parliamentary contacts

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, pointed out on the same day that the peoples of Western European countries understand that the political course of their governments to abandon cooperation with Russia is suicidal. She added that in response to this request from European society, Western governments are demonstrating that they "sort of intend" to take a different path and begin restoring relations with Russia.