Ukrainian conflict triggered by aspiration to bring it to NATO: Kissinger

The US wanting to make Ukraine a NATO member was a serious mistake and led to the current conflict, former US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday.

According to him, for centuries, Russia has enjoyed a significant influence in the region but its own stance on Europe was ambivalent given that Russia was interested in fostering ties with it for its own development, while being cautious of potential threats coming from the West.

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Kissinger thinks that this very ambivalence also led to the conflict in Ukraine. "I think the offer to put Ukraine into NATO was a grave mistake and led to this war," he said.

That said, he added that the Biden administration has done "many things" right. "I support them on Ukraine," he says.

"From my perspective, the Ukraine war is won, in terms of precluding a Russian attack on allied nations in Europe," the senior American political figure insisted. However, he thinks that there are "other dangers that can rise out of Russia."

On 27 May, Kissinger is celebrating his centennial. He is the only official in US history to have served as both secretary of state and presidential national security adviser. He is considered to be the patriarch of US diplomacy, guided by his pragmatism in foreign policy matters as he played a key role in shaping Washington's policy in the 1970s on a wide range of issues.