*基辛格从 1973 年到 1977 年担任美国国务卿
本文发表于2014年3月6日《华盛顿邮报》 The Washington Post
March 6, 2014
Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But
do we know where we are going? In my life, I have seen four wars
begun with great enthusiasm and public support, all of which we did
not know how to end and from three of which we withdrew
unilaterally. The test of policy is how it ends, not how it
begins. Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown:
whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to
survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against
the other — it should function as a bridge between
them. Russia must accept that to try to force Ukraine into a
satellite status, and thereby move Russia’s borders again, would
doom Moscow to repeat its history of self-fulfilling cycles of
reciprocal pressures with Europe and the United
States. The West must understand that, to Russia,Ukraine can never be
just a foreign country. Russian history began in what was called
Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has
been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were
intertwined before then. Some of the most important battles for
Russian freedom, starting with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 , were
fought on Ukrainian soil. The Black Sea Fleet— Russia’s means of
projecting power in the Mediterranean — is based by long-term lease
in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an
integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of
Russia. The European Union must recognize that its bureaucratic
dilatoriness and subordination of the strategic element to domestic
politics in negotiating Ukraine’s relationship to Europe
contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis. Foreign policy
is the art of establishing priorities. The Ukrainians are the decisive element.They live in a
country with a complex history and a polyglot composition. The
Western part was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1939, when
Stalin and Hitler divided up the spoils. Crimea, 60 percent of
whose population is Russian, became part of Ukraine only in 1954 ,
when Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian by birth, awarded it as part of
the 300th-year celebration of a Russian agreement with the
Cossacks. The west is largely Catholic; the east largely Russian
Orthodox. The west speaks Ukrainian; the east speaks mostly
Russian. Any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate the other —
as has been the pattern — would lead eventually to civil war or
breakup. To treat Ukraineas part of an East-West confrontation
would scuttle for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West
— especially Russia and Europe — into a cooperative international
system. Ukraine has been independent for only 23years; it had
previously been under some kind of foreign rule since the 14th
century. Not surprisingly, its leaders have not learned the art of
compromise,even less of historical perspective. The politics of
post-independence Ukraine clearly demonstrate that the root of the
problem lies in efforts by Ukrainian politicians to impose their
will on recalcitrant parts of the country, first by one faction,
then by the other. That is the essence of the conflict between
Viktor Yanukovych and his principal political rival, Yulia
Tymoshenko. They represent the two wings of Ukraine and have not
been willing to share power. Awise U.S. policy toward Ukraine would
seek a way for the two parts of the country to cooperate with each
other. We should seek reconciliation, not the dominationof a
faction. Russia and the West, and least of all the various factions in
Ukraine, have not acted on this principle. Each has made the
situation worse. Russia would not be able to impose a military
solution without isolating itself at a time when many of its
borders are already precarious. For the West, the demonization of
Vladimir Putin is not a policy;it is an alibi for the absence of
one. Putin should come to realize that,whatever his grievances, a
policy of military impositions would produce another Cold War. For
its part, the United States needs to avoid treating Russia as an
aberrant to be patiently taught rules of conduct established by
Washington.Putin is a serious strategist — on the premises of
Russian history. Understanding U.S. values and psychology are not
his strong suits. Nor has understanding Russian history and
psychology been a strong point of U.S. policymakers. Leaders of all sides should return to examining outcomes, not
compete in posturing. Here is my notion of an outcome compatible
with the values and security interests of all sides:
1. Ukraine should have the right to choose freely its
economic and political associations, including with
Europe. 2. Ukraine should not join NATO, a position I took seven
years ago, when it last came up. 3. Ukraine should be free to create any government compatible
with the expressed will of its people. Wise Ukrainian leaders would
then opt for a policy of reconciliation between the various parts
of their country. Internationally, they should pursue a posture
comparable to that of Finland. That nation leaves no doubt about
its fierce independence and cooperates with the West in most fields
but carefully avoids institutional hostility toward
Russia. 4. It is incompatible with the rules ofthe existing world
order for Russia to annex Crimea. But it should be possibleto put
Crimea’s relationship to Ukraine on a less fraught basis. To that
end, Russia would recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea.
Ukraine should reinforce Crimea’s autonomy in elections held in the
presence of international observers. The process would include
removing any ambiguities about the status of the Black Sea Fleet at
Sevastopol.
These are principles, not prescriptions. People familiar with
the region will know that not all of them will be palatable to all
parties. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced
dissatisfaction. If some solution based on these or comparable
elements is not achieved, the drift toward confrontation will
accelerate. The time for thatwill come soon enough. Henry A. Kissinger was secretary of state from 1973 to
1977.