Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger attends a luncheon at the US Department of State December 1, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Robert Smith | AFP | Getty Images
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said on Tuesday that after a peace deal in Ukraine, Russia must be given the opportunity to one day rejoin the international system and dialogue with the country must continue.
“This may seem very hollow to nations that were under Russian pressure for much of the Cold War era,” Kissinger said via video link outside the World Economic Forum in Davos.
However, it is important to avoid an escalation of the conflict between Russia and the West, which feels that the war has been waged “against Russia itself”.
This, he said, “might prompt Russia to reassess its historical position, which was a mixture of attraction to European culture and fear of European domination.”
“The destruction of Russia as a state able to pursue its own policies will open up the vast territory of its eleven time zones to internal conflict and outside interference when there are 15,000+ nuclear weapons on its territory.”
“Therefore, I believe in a dialogue with Russia while the war continues, an end to the fighting when the pre-war line is reached, and a continued process of discussion between Europe, America and, at this point, Russia … while the terms become sanctions and other pressures.” maintained until a final solution is reached.”
“I believe this is the way to prevent the war from escalating,” he said.
Kissinger was criticized by a Ukrainian politician in May when he suggested Ukraine cede some land to Russia in order to reach a peace deal.
Kissinger went on to say Tuesday that the US should continue to provide military support and, if necessary, increase that support until a ceasefire line is reached or accepted in preliminary talks.
He also said he wanted to express his admiration for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the “heroic behavior of the Ukrainian people”; and that he now believes that one day Ukraine’s membership of NATO would be a “reasonable outcome”.
Kissinger was secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford from 1973 to 1977 and served as national security adviser from 1969 to 1975. He was an important part of US détente with the Soviet Union and rapprochement with China, overseeing highly controversial decisions including bombing and military operations in Cambodia.