Russia will remain influential for decades, despite the contracting population and the narrowing economic base, the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger writes in his new book.
Kissinger warns that because of its extensive territory and the lack of geographical protection, Russia suffers from a constant feeling of insecurity that deeply rooted in its history.
The author indicates that if Ukraine joins NATO, the border of the Alliance will be “within 500 kilometers from Moscow”, which “eliminates the strategic depth”, which Russia has always been counting on. According to Kissinger, “the decision of the current conflict should be neutral Ukraine,” but he does not indicate how the security of this country as a “neutral buffer state” can be guaranteed.
The book also indicates that Russia, in turn, violated the promise of the sovereignty of Ukraine twice, once that Kyiv was provided with an independent place in the United Nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the second time in the Budapest memorandum of 1994 When Ukraine has joined the contract on non -proliferation of nuclear weapons. Then Russia and the UK and the United States officially pledged “to refrain from the threat or use of force against territorial integrity and existing borders of Ukraine.”