Professor Jeffrey Sachs, American economist and political analyst

Antalya, April 15 (RHC)-- The West Asian region has been “manipulated” by Britain, France and the United States over the past century, says American economist Jeffrey Sachs, stressing that the strategic area will see no peace until the United States is out.

Sachs made the remarks at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025, Turkey, where renowned economists and global affairs experts annually deliver critiques of flawed U.S. foreign policy in West Asia.

“This region (West Asia) has been manipulated by Britain, France and the US for 100 years since the Treaty of Versailles,” Sachs said, referring to a peace treaty signed at the end of World War I by the Allied Powers and Germany in the Palace of Versailles, France.

“It will not have safety or peace until the U.S. is out of this region.  If you think your big friend U.S. is going to do your bidding and help you get your way.”

The American economist pointed to the divisive policies adopted by the West in the region over the years and said, “Empires divide to rule.  They’re not doing the bidding of Syria or Turkey or Lebanon or anybody else.  You are calling the U.S. to balance Iran and think that this is going to work out well?  It’s not going to work out well... You don’t need the U.S. to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.”

Upbraiding the inaction of the international community vis-à-vis the US wreaking havoc in West Asia, Sachs said: “There’s no international community.  We’re trying to make one, but it doesn’t exist right now.  That’s the tragedy in this world; there’s no community. There are interests, there are militaries, there are regime change operations.  This is not community, we need real community.”

Drawing from over a decade of geopolitical developments, Sachs stressed that the Syrian conflict and broader regional instability are not the results of internal strife alone, but of “deliberate U.S.-led interventions often shaped by Israeli strategic objectives.”

The political commentator challenged the moral and strategic legitimacy of American support for military campaigns in Syria and the Gaza Strip, describing them as “obstacles to peace” and “enablers of ongoing violence.”

Sachs also called on the United States to abandon regime change strategies and instead support regional self-determination, terming the move as a “shift he believes could unlock peace across [West Asia].”

[ SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS and NEWS AGENCIES ]