“Kissinger still lives in the 20th century”: Ukraine replies to the suggestion of politician to cede its land to russia

The Ukrainian MP has given what he called a “polite” reply to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's suggestion that Ukraine should be prepared to cede part of its territory to moscow in order to reach a peace agreement.

“I think Mr. Kissinger still lives in the 20th century, and we are in the 21st century and we are not going to give up any inch of our territory,” Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian deputy, told CNBC on Wednesday.

“We should stop putin now and not let him go further,” Goncharenko said, having added that he believes the best way to establish peace is to bring Ukraine inside the European Union as quickly as possible.

Kissinger, who is also a former US national security advisor, caused a stir earlier this week when he suggested that Ukraine should be prepared to cede some territory to russia in order to reach a peace agreement with moscow.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Monday, Kissinger said, “Ideally, the dividing line should return to the status quo ante,” meaning a return to the existing state of affairs before the war, suggesting that he thought that russia should be allowed to retain Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.

Kissinger, who served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, said that “pursuing the war beyond that point would not be about the freedom of Ukraine... but a new war against russia itself.”

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out ceding any land to russia as part of an agreement, particularly in reference to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which russian forces are currently focused on seizing. 

However, it is yet unclear whether Kyiv might accept that Crimea remains in russian hands. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba also criticized Kissinger's proposals.

“I respect Henry Kissinger, but I appreciate that he's not holding any official position in the US administration, he has his own opinion, but we strongly disagree with it,” Dmytro Kuleba said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte commented on the Kissinger fallout, having said: “I'm afraid that on television now I have to officially declare that I disagree with the statement of Henry Kissinger.”

“For us the territorial integrity, the sovereignty of Ukraine stands above all else and it is up to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, and his team to decide how they will conduct the peace negotiations that we hope will start one day,” Rutte said.