Ukraine Official Blasts Kissinger Over Comment on Ceding Territory
Ukraine would be forced to negotiate if it wasn't for the Western support
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Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state, said Monday what The Trends Journal has been advocating since the start of the Ukraine War: President Volodymyr Zelensky should negotiate for a peaceful resolution and prevent thousands more from dying needlessly.
“Negotiations need to begin in the next two months before it creates upheavals and tensions that will not be easily overcome,” Kissinger told the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Ideally, the dividing line should be a return to the status quo ante.”
The 98-year-old said pursuing the war “beyond that point would not be about the freedom of Ukraine, but a new war against Russia itself.”
He said Ukraine should be willing to cede territory in the peace process. Ukraine has said it will not stop fighting until Russia retreats from the country.
Kissinger saw some success during his time as the U.S.’s top diplomat with the Soviet Union and played a role in arms control treaties like the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. He told the audience in Davos that it would be “fatal” for Western countries to disregard Russia's position of power within Europe.
“I hope the Ukrainians will match the heroism they have shown with wisdom,” Kissinger said.
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Kissinger’s comments were mocked on social media by “journalists” who -two months ago- didn’t know the difference between Kyiv and a quiche. One even suggested that he should die.
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Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, was critical of Kissinger’s remarks and said he would as easily “allow to take Poland or Lithuania away,” Newsweek reported.
“It’s good that Ukrainians in the trenches do not have time for listening to ‘Davos panickers.’ They're a little bit busy defending Freedom and Democracy,” he wrote on Twitter.
Kissinger’s comments follow nonagenarian Noam Chomsky’s earlier statements about the dangers of a prolonged conflict in Ukraine. Chomsky, correctly, stated earlier this month that Ukrainian leadership’s cry for more heavy weapons is actually the Western “propaganda system.”
Chomsky was criticized after saying in an interview that former President Donald Trump is the “one Western statesman of stature” who laid out a “sensible” solution for Ukraine.
He said Trump spoke about facilitating negotiations instead of “undermining them and moving towards establishing some kind of accommodation in Europe in which there are no military alliances and mutual accommodation."
Podolyak’s comments are not surprising. His boss, Zelensky, also addressed an audience in Davos on the same day that Kissinger and spoke about more ways the West could inflict pain on Russia. (He received a roaring standing ovation, The New York Times said.)
Zelensky called for maximum sanctions against Russia.
“I believe there are still no such sanctions against Russia. There should be a Russian oil embargo. Russian banks should be banned, no exception. There should be an abandonment of the Russian IT sector. There should not be any trade with Russia," he said.
TRENDPOST: Hearing Zelensky speak, one might start to think that he’s coming from a position of power. He talks to Western leaders the way a college boy complains to his parents to send more money while away at school.
Russia could have rolled up Kyiv in a week if it unleashed its military’s full might. Ukrainian troops are only fighting today because of the historic amount of Western support. They would have been forced to negotiate weeks ago. Russia’s lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, told TASS Sunday that Moscow is willing to resume negotiations, but Kyiv must make the first step.
“For our part, we are ready to continue the dialogue. But I will emphasize once again: the ball for the continuation of peace talks is in Ukraine’s court. Freezing the talks is entirely Ukraine's initiative,” Medinsky said.
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Great stuff Gerald. Even the old war criminal Kissinger is talking better sense and realpolitik than the administration. As for Zelensky and Putin sorting it the old-fashioned (and a lot safer for us) way - I actually think Putin (despite the age difference) would be into it. I'm not so sure about Zelensky - although maybe he'd get in the ring for another $40bil.