Ukraine must reclaim its south and become a NATO Member – Francis Fukuyama
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In his opinion, under current conditions, peace talks and a temporary ceasefire would be a very bad scenario for Kyiv, as that would leave Russia in control of Donbas, Crimea, and much of the southern coast of Ukraine
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"There's an even deeper issue: as long as [Russian dictator] Vladimir Putin is in power, any 'peace agreements' will simply give Russia the opportunity to rearm its troops for a later resumption of the war," Fukuyama stressed.
He believes that the only thing that could prevent Russia from resuming the war in the future is Ukraine's membership in NATO and the security guarantees provided by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
"NATO membership will become a reality if, thanks to the counteroffensive, Ukraine regains [full control of] the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions on the Black Sea coast," said the Stanford University professor.
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"The fear of a slow blockade of Crimea may prompt Putin to stop attacks on Ukraine, unblock Ukrainian ports on a long-term basis, and stop terrorist missile attacks on Ukrainian cities."
Fukuyama emphasized that the durability of any peace arrangements with Russia will depend on Ukraine's membership in NATO.
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"Every NATO member who has doubts about this must say, what other peace agreement is possible in the coming years, without simply being a short-term ceasefire and an opportunity for Russia to rearm, rebuild, and then resume the war," he concluded.
The Kyiv Security Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation, is the country's premiere platform for discussing issues of war and peace, national and global security.
Partners of the forum include the Atlantic Council, NATO Information and Documentation Center, National Democratic Institute, Ukrainian Women's Congress, and Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
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NV is the official media partner of the Kyiv Security Forum.
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