Kissinger: Washington wasn’t interested in the Russian draft agreement on security guarantees
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger confirmed that Washington wasn’t interested in the draft agreement proposed by Russia to the United States on security guarantees, which could serve as a basis for dialogue between them.
“We didn’t take it seriously… This agreement was unacceptable in itself, but it can serve as a starting point,” Kissinger said in an interview with The Economist.
He added, “The two sides attempt to start a dialogue could be complicated by the extremely hostile personal attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin on the part of the chief US negotiator (referring likely to US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman)”.
Kissinger also drew attention to the fact that the so-called “Berlin ultimatum” of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev, became a starting point for lengthy Soviet-American negotiations, which in 1971 led to the signing of the Quadripartite Agreement.
“However, in the case of Ukraine, no attempt was made to initiate a constructive dialogue,” he continued.
Kissinger also stressed that in order to allow Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO in the future; the United States had made a mistake, adding that this “doesn’t justify Russia’s actions”.
He also noted that the special military operation initiated by Russia and its consequences forced many assessments to be revised, including Kissinger’s personal position on the issue of Ukraine’s neutrality.
He himself said that he considers it necessary for Ukraine to join NATO, which has become an “important country” with which China has begun to build relations again, and which, according to the diplomat, “is interested in Ukraine’s independence”.
Kissinger considered that Beijing’s participation in preparing a peace plan for Ukraine “will complicate the course of discussions on this issue, but at the same time it could become a basis for easing tensions in US-Chinese relations”.
He also expressed his view that, under certain conditions, China could reluctantly agree to Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
