Wars are ‘smart investment’ for US as they are not taking place on American soil: Russia

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia on Friday responded to US President Joe Biden's request to Congress for $100 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel, claiming that the wars are a "smart investment" because they are not taking place on American soil.

"They used to call it ‘fighting for freedom and democracy.’ Now it turns out it is just calculations. It has always been that way, they just fooled the world using values for which Washington has never really stood," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Telegram.

Zakharova went on to argue that wars have traditionally been "smart investments" for Washington as they did not take place on American soil and that the US "does not care about costs borne by others.”

"As they say, nothing personal, just business,” Zakharova said.

In an earlier speech from the Oval Office on Thursday, Biden said he would send Congress “an urgent budget request” of $100 on Friday to fund America's national security needs to support its “critical partners,” including Israel and Ukraine.

“It’s a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations,” Biden said.