“A Geopolitical Nostradamus”
Last Friday capped a two-day visit to Ukraine by Henry Kissinger, the well-known US politician, diplomat, and Nobel Prize winner. This was his fourth trip to Ukraine. His first visit, as US Secretary of State, was in 1972, when he accompanied President Richard Nixon. He came a second time in 1991, as soon as Ukraine gained its independence, and for the third time in the late 1990s. Mr. Kissinger emphasized that these “multistage” visits to Ukraine have enabled him to made certain conclusion about this country’s successes, which are striking in his opinion.
“From the viewpoint of a foreigner, Ukraine has achieved resounding successes over the past decade,” Mr. Kissinger emphasized at a press conference on Oct. 22. “History has never known such a stormy period, when so many important things were occurring simultaneously: the changing of Russia’s borders, the formation of a united Europe, and the strengthening of India. Ukraine’s position as a geographic phenomenon is closely linked with these new events,” said the US diplomat. “In the past, Ukraine was, so to speak, the subject of such events. Now your state can become a participant... Ukrainian independence must become the guarantee of stability in very many nooks and crannies of he world,” Mr. Kissinger added.
During his stay in Kyiv, Mr. Kissinger met with President Leonid Kuchma and the two leading presidential candidates — Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych. The former prime minister said that his conversation with the distinguished American was about “the atmosphere and circumstances of the election campaign.” Naturally, Mr. Kissinger did not avoid this subject during his meeting with the current prime minister. “As friends of Ukraine, we hope this will be a free process. The election results will help this country strengthen democracy,” the American politician maintained.
“The US wants to see the elections in Ukraine without pressure or violations, and with fair vote counting. This will get the state closer to the Western world,” Mr. Kissinger said when he was asked about the Ukrainian election campaign. He flatly refused to answer certain questions, such as the likelihood that sanctions will be re-imposed on Ukraine, as in the case of Belarus. “I would not like to indulge in speculation about US actions after the elections. This is up to the officials. I hope this will not happen,” he noted. As to whether violence may mar the post-election situation in Ukraine, Mr. Kissinger emphasized that he “would be deeply distressed if the elections led to violent actions on either side... the very existence of Ukraine has introduced changes into the international situation. These changes have helped to establish peace and stability,” he said.
The eighty-one-year-old Henry Kissinger is a longtime advocate of Ukraine. Many Ukrainian diplomats, who maintained contacts with him in the early 1990s, recall that he was one of those who did not hesitate over Ukrainian independence and immediately came out in support of it. In his comments, he repeatedly noted that Russia could not put up with the “loss” of Ukraine. In 2002 the British newspaper Guardian voted the former US secretary of state and national security advisor the world’s most authoritative intellectual. Kissinger is also known as a “geopolitical Nostradamus” because his forecasts have often come true. Will his predictions be correct this time? The famous American dropped a hint, saying, “It takes time to see which way things will go.”
