Kujat Again Calls for Ukraine Talks Along Chinese Proposal

July 27—In an interview published July 25 with the German journal “NachDenkSeiten,” former German General Harald Kujat says that whatever way the NATO war in Ukraine against Russia war ends, two main losers are already certain: Ukraine and Europe, particularly Ukraine, because it is encouraged to fight a war it cannot win. Apart from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and, since recently, also Czech President Petr Pavel—who is, after all, a former NATO general—Europe’s elites are incompetent and dominated by ideology, Kujat notes.

Apart from other Western mistakes, Kujat considers the suspension of the NATO-Russia Council to be a particular problem, “because the NATO-Russia Council was designed as a mechanism for effective crisis management at both political and military level. It is not rational political action to discard something that was created in a time of trusting cooperation to reduce tensions and manage a crisis when it arises.”

Kujat went on: "Whether we succeed in creating a European peace and security order depends on how the war in Ukraine ends. The opportunity to conclude the Istanbul negotiations with a peaceful solution based on a reconciliation of interests was missed. Even if it were possible to resume bilateral negotiations, the same result would not be achievable after everything that has happened in the meantime. Nevertheless, I still believe that the approach proposed by China more than a year ago in its twelve-point paper makes sense because it overcomes the hurdles created by both sides.

“The Hungarian Prime Minister’s [Orban] initiative seems to be heading in the same direction. After his talks with Zelenskyy and Putin, he spoke with Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, who have not only expressed their interest in ending the war, but also have the power to enforce a ceasefire and a negotiated peace. It is to be hoped that Orbán’s peace initiative will result in a new European peace and security architecture that meets the security interests of all Europeans, is sustainable and brings Europe closer to political, economic and military self-assertion.”

General Kujat ended his career as Bundeswehr chief of staff (2000-2002) and then as chairman of the NATO Military Committee (2002-2005). [