Kissinger blasted by Ukrainian official for pushing cease-fire with Russia

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger faced fierce criticism on Monday for recommending a cease-fire line between Ukraine and Russia based on the borders before Feb. 24, when Moscow started the current war.

"Unfortunately, even after 10 months of war, Mr. Kissinger did not understand anything ... Neither the nature of this war, nor its impact on the world order," Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said on Telegram. “The recipe that the former Secretary of State calls for, but is afraid to speak out loud, is simple: appease the aggressor by sacrificing part of the territory of Ukraine with guarantees of non-aggression against other Eastern European states.”

Podolyak said that supporters of “simple solutions” to the war in Ukraine need to remember that any deal that considers the undermining of Ukrainian lands “will be a victory for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and a recipe for success for autocrats around the world.”

Such a situation would only increase Russian “appetite” and “aggression,” in addition to multiplying “new conflicts around the world, make missiles a tool of international relations and lead to an era of instability and a new pursuit of the atom by non-nuclear states,” he warned.

“Kissinger does not understand: if it becomes clear to all potential ‘scumbags’ that adults are not at home, that is, (if) international law does not work, this will mean that the security of non-nuclear countries can now be saved only by the presence of nuclear weapons. And I'm not sure he'll like this turn of events,” Podolyak added.

He also said that the return of respect for international law is the only way to end the war and establish peace.

In a weekend article in British weekly The Specatator, Kissinger recommended the establishment of a cease-fire line between Ukraine and Russia along the borders where the conflict began on Feb. 24, after which Moscow would withdraw from territories it controls, excluding those it controlled prior to the war, including Crimea – which Moscow illegally seized in 2014 – which Kissinger said “could be the subject of a negotiation after a cease-fire.”

Kissinger also recommended adopting a principle of self-determination and internationally supervised referendums in “particularly divisive territories” if the cease-fire line cannot be established.

Kissinger, 99, one of the most famous and controversial diplomats in US history, in the 1970s served under two presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. H​​​​​​​e is perhaps best known for his advocacy of the realpolitik doctrine of foreign relations.