Kissinger: The United States is on the brink of war with Moscow and Beijing
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said, Saturday, that “the United States is on the brink of war with Russia and China, due to issues that Washington itself contributed to creating in part”.
“We’re on the brink of war with Russia and China over issues that we partly helped create, without any idea how those issues will end or what they are supposed to turn into,” Kissinger said, in an interview with the he Wall Street Journal.
He asked, “Can the United States manage two opponents by separating them, as was the case during the years of former US President Richard Nixon?”
He explained, “You can’t say now that we’re going to separate them and turn them against each other… All you can do is not accelerate the tension and present options”.
With regard to Ukraine, the former US Secretary of State explained that he “previously believed that the best situation for Ukraine would be to be like Finland, before the latter broke its neutrality and expressed its desire to join NATO”.
He added, “Now because of the military operation that Russia is carrying out in Ukraine, it is believed that one way or another, formally or informally, Ukraine should be treated as a member of NATO later”.
He added that “it was a mistake on the part of NATO to give signals to Ukraine about the possibility of joining NATO,” and that “the security concerns expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin should be taken seriously”.
Commenting on the possibility of settling the situation in Ukraine, Kissinger said that Russia “will eventually retain Crimea and parts of the Donbass region”.
About two weeks ago, Kissinger told the German public network ZDF, that “the abandonment of Ukrainian lands should not be on the table,” and urged Western countries to be clear about what is up for discussion, stressing that “all this must be done with the participation of the Ukrainian people, in a retreat from his previous position in Davos.
In early July, Kissinger drew 3 scenarios for the crisis in Ukraine, saying that “if Russia stops at the level it has reached so far in its war on Ukraine, it will control 20% of the Ukrainian lands and the greater part of Donbas, and this will be a victory for it”.
Last May, during his speech at the Davos Forum, Kissinger considered that “Ukraine must give up some lands to Russia,” warning “the West against its continuous attempt to defeat the Russian forces in Ukraine,” considering that this would have “consequences” dangerous for Europe’s long-term stability.
