Ukraine's government dismissed former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's suggestion that the time is approaching to achieve peace through negotiation with Russia, saying his proposal "appeases the aggressor" by giving up parts of Ukrainian territory.
"The time is approaching to build on the strategic changes which have already been accomplished and to integrate them into a new structure towards achieving peace through negotiation," Kissinger wrote in an op-ed for The Spectator published on Dec. 17.
Advisor to the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office Mykhailo Podolyak responded on Telegram by saying, "Mr. Kissinger still has not understood anything ... neither the nature of this war, nor its impact on the world order," Reuters reported.
"The prescription that the ex-Secretary of State calls for, but is afraid to say out loud, is simple: appease the aggressor by sacrificing parts of Ukraine with guarantees of non-aggression against the other states of Eastern Europe."
"All supporters of simple solutions should remember the obvious: any agreement with the devil - a bad peace at the expense of Ukrainian territories - will be a victory for Putin and a recipe for success for autocrats around the world," he added.
Earlier in May, Kissinger suggested at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Ukraine cede territory to Russia in the name of peace.
President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Kissinger at the time for his suggestion, saying that Kissinger “emerges from the deep past and says that a piece of Ukraine should be given to Russia” and that his “calendar is not 2022, but 1938.”
