Henry Kissinger, one of the most controversial diplomats in American history, warned against mis-characterizing Russia during a recent interview with the UK daily, The Independent:
"It's easy to demonise Putin...Of course he's not easy, but one has seen that type of Russian leader before – and he's not a Hitler.
The question is how does one visualise the long-term relationship of Russia to the West at a moment when Asia is transforming itself and Islam is in permanent upheaval?"
"... but why didn't somebody, somewhere along the road, propose a solution that would have addressed both sides' concerns within the context of an independent Ukraine?”
In the interview, he argued that Europe has made a blunder when it tried to force the Ukraine to choose between Russia or the EU, and that it would have been wiser to pursue an approach that Russia would agree to. He urged the West to display more flexibility for the sake of achieving peace.
Kissinger has been heavily criticized for his military policies in Vietnam and Cambodia when he was US Secretary of State in the Nixon administration. The massive bombing of civilians he directed in these countries are widely considered to be war crimes.
Lately, Kissinger has been an unlikely advocate for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict.
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