Photo: Shutterstock, EPA/THOMAS PETER
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said on Friday that he did not think it was a wise foreign policy decision for the US to try to include Ukraine in NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union.
“The main challenge came when the Berlin Wall came down… From the Russian point of view, the United States then tried to integrate this whole region [Istočnu Evropu]without exception, into the American-led strategic system,” Kissinger said.
“I thought that trying to include Ukraine in NATO was not a wise American policy.”
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is quickly applying for NATO membership. “De facto, we have already completed our journey to NATO. De facto, we have already proven interoperability with Alliance standards, they are real for Ukraine – real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction. We trust each other, we help each other and we protect each other. It’s an Alliance. De facto. Today, Ukraine is applying for it to be de jure. According to a procedure that is in line with our importance for the protection of our entire community. According to an accelerated procedure, “he said in a statement.
Later, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US remained committed to NATO’s open door policy.
Kissinger warned of the possibility of accelerating tensions towards nuclear conflict, arguing that the use of nuclear weapons would change the world order forever. However, if Russia initiates a nuclear conflict, the United States and NATO should deny Moscow the outcomes it wants, he said.
Kissinger also advocated dialogue between Russia and a collective West that continues to seek to preserve US and NATO strategic interests.
It is not in the interest of the world, including the collective West, for Russia to be completely excluded from Western systems, Kissinger added.
Kurir.rs/Sputnik
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