Skip to footer

Brzezinski: Formally recognize Ukraine, prepare NATO troops

The strategy of the West regarding Russian aggression in Ukraine should be to complicate Vladimir Putin’s planning. He should be given options to avoid conflict. But he should also be made aware of the negative consequences for Russia that would follow armed conflict.

|
John Minchillo/AP
Demonstraters against Russian military actions in Ukraine rally in New York's Times Square March 2. Western powers are prepared 'to go to the hilt' to isolate Russia for its military incursion into Ukraine, 'an incredible act of aggression' that may lead to visa bans, asset freezes, trade and investment penalties, and a boycott of a Russian-hosted economic summit of global powers in June, Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of America’s foremost strategic thinkers, is a former US national security adviser. He spoke with WorldPost editor Nathan Gardels on Monday. 

The WorldPost: With recent troop movements, it looks like Russia could be preparing to seize the Crimea. How will Ukrainians react?

Zbigniew Brzezinski: If Russia does that, it may well end up having the Crimea, but it will lose Ukraine forever. They will never forgive Russia for this.

The WorldPost: In the immediate term, what can the West do?

Brzezinski: The strategy of the West at this moment should be to complicate Vladimir Putin’s planning. He should be given options to avoid conflict. But he should also be made aware of the very negative consequences for Russia that would follow the outbreak of armed conflict.

By options, I mean that we should indicate to Russia that we prefer a peaceful accommodation in Ukraine, and NATO should invite the Russians to participate in its ongoing discussions about this crisis.

But, at the same time, we should let the Russians know we are not going to be passive. First, we have to formally recognize the new government in Ukraine, which I believe expresses the will of the people there. It is the legitimate government. And interference in Ukrainian affairs should be considered a hostile act by a foreign power.

Further, we should put NATO contingency plans into operation, deploying forces in Central Europe so we are in a position to respond if war should break out and spread.

The WorldPost: What is the ultimate solution to Ukraine, historically situated between the West and Russia?

Brzezinski: Ultimately, the best solution for Ukraine would be to become as Finland has been to Russia. That is, a relationship where there are both open economic relationships with Russia and expanding connections with the European Union, but no participation in any military alliance. 

The WorldPost: If we manage to get by this crisis and avoid a war, Ukraine is in an economic mess. George Soros has called for Germany to take the lead in helping Ukraine. And, just before the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, German President Joachim Gauck called on his country to step up to the world stage. What is the EU role here, and Germany’s role in particular?

Brzezinski: If the EU is serious about playing a role in the world, it has to start here. And that means putting up the money to help stabilize Ukraine’s teetering economy. A compromise solution that is acceptable for Russia as well as the West, and that will avoid war and give the Ukrainians some hope of a future, will involve serious economic aid and investment. Since Germany is the most prosperous and strongest economy in the EU, it should take the lead.

© 2014 The WorldPost/Global Viewpoint Network, distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Hosted online by The Christian Science Monitor.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Brzezinski: Formally recognize Ukraine, prepare NATO troops
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Viewpoint/2014/0303/Brzezinski-Formally-recognize-Ukraine-prepare-NATO-troops
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe