Former US President Bill Clinton said he realized in 2011 – military conflict Russia and Ukraine “just a matter of time”. The former American leader said: explaining He reportedly met with Vladimir Putin at a forum in Davos, Switzerland. Finance Times.
What did Clinton say…
Clinton said he saw a “Ukrainian offensive” as inevitable after a “chilling argument with Putin”, who was then Russia’s prime minister.
During the Davos meeting, it was alleged that Putin rejected a US-mediated agreement brokered by his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity in return for Kiev giving up its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal (Budapest Memorandum – socialbites.ca). of the USA
“In 2011 – three years before the seizure of Crimea – Vladimir Putin told me that he did not agree with my agreement with Boris Yeltsin,” Clinton said.
According to him, Putin said: “I do not agree with this. And I do not support it. And I’m not attached to it.”
“And from that day on I knew it was only a matter of time,” said the 42nd President of the United States, who ruled the country from 1993 to 2001.
…and his wife Hillary
Bill Clinton shared this memory at an event in New York accompanied by his wife, Hillary, a former US Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate.
They urged the West to increase support for Ukraine and said that Kiev “could win if adequate arms and ammunition are provided”.
“The Klinton family warned that refusing to support Ukraine would encourage not only Putin but also Chinese President Xi Jinping,” the publication says.
“Russia’s military failures in Ukraine and its resolute response to the Western invasion have hampered Xi’s campaign to retake Taiwan, which may have been more successful than anticipated,” Hillary Clinton said.
Specifically, “Xi saw it. And before the Russian invasion, I think the chances of attacking Taiwan in two to three years are high. I think this program has been postponed.”
Clinton also accused Putin of “interfering with the 2016 presidential election”, which he lost to Donald Trump.
“[Путин] He is spearheading what he sees as a just struggle to undermine Western democracy and restore as much of the Russian Empire as possible. Therefore, it will not stop,” said the former US Secretary of State.
According to his estimates, Ukraine must “either defeat Russia or at least return the eastern territories lost after February 24, 2022” to stop hostilities.
“To them [украинцам] lift is needed. i wouldn’t trust him [Путину] Under no circumstances are the Ukrainians supported by us at the negotiating table unless they have sufficient strength,” he explained.
Budapest Memorandum
After the collapse of the USSR, Kiev inherited a nuclear arsenal. In 1994, Ukraine signed the Budapest Accord, which gave up the world’s third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in exchange for the other signatories’ promises to keep it safe.
In March 2014, Putin said, “After seizing power in Kiev in the region [Украины] A new state was being born in which we did not sign any binding documents.”
In February 2022, shortly before the start Russian special operationsUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will initiate negotiations among the participants of the Budapest Security Memorandum of Understanding, which means guaranteeing Kiev.
Speaking at the Munich Conference, the Ukrainian leader said that “Ukraine will have every right to believe that the Budapest Memorandum does not work” if such negotiations do not take place or, as a result, there are no guarantees of security for Kiev. They recorded that they “heard the words of Zelensky” in response to this in Moscow.