Kissinger encouraged the Ukrainians to negotiate an immediate end to the war, even if that means surrendering territory in the East.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said his predecessor Henry Kissinger was “wrong” in his assessment of the Russia-Ukraine war, in wide-ranging remarks to the Tikvah Fund’s Jewish Leadership Conference on Sunday.
Russia is slowly gaining ground in Ukraine’s east, making use of heavy artillery. Russian forces have made gains in the city of Sievierodonetsk, multiple outlets reported on Monday, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has stressed that control of the city is crucial for Ukraine’s position in the war.
Kissinger, who served as secretary of state from 1973 to 1977, called for negotiations to end the war in remarks to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month.
“In my view, a movement towards negotiations on peace needs to begin in the next two months or so. The outcome of the war should be outlined by them before it creates upheavals and tensions that will be even harder to overcome,” Kissinger told the conference via video link at the time.
“Ideally, the dividing line should return to the status quo ante. I believe pursuing the war beyond that point could turn it into a war not about the freedom of Ukraine, which has been undertaken with great cohesion by NATO, but into a war against Russia itself,” Kissinger added.
The comments about the “status quo ante” received backlash for appearing to suggest that Ukraine allow Russia to keep control over Crimea and the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east, which Russian proxies seized in 2014.
Pompeo was asked about Kissinger’s remarks by Tikvah Fund chairman Elliott Abrams during the conference on Sunday.
“Dr. Kissinger just has this one wrong,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo on Sunday suggested that the U.S. should continue to aid Ukraine, noting that the “world is watching” America’s handling of the war, especially after the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The world is watching how we respond and how we provide support to the Ukrainian people, who simply want the tools and the weapon systems to protect their own people and protect their own nation’s sovereignty,” Pompeo said.
The former secretary added that he thinks Russian president Vladimir Putin’s actions are geared toward “restoration of greater Russia,” and cannot be explained by the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as many have argued.
“I get the caution that people have, but I don’t think for a second Vladimir Putin needs a reason to escalate,” the former secretary added. “All the things he’s put forward over time, whether it was NATO enlargement as the reason, are belied by the truth that he’s had as his mission…the restoration of greater Russia.”
Pompeo said “we should pray that this administration will begin to deliver the tools the Ukrainian people need to what is noble and right,” apparently referring to the Biden administration.
Note: The author participated in a week-long course sponsored by the Tikvah Fund in 2018.